s m? 

.W6 S5 7 




M E M () I R 



MARSHALL P . AV I L D E R 



JOHN TI . S 11 E P P A R D , A . M 



]. I B K A R T A N . 



[From the New Englaml Historical and Genealogical Register for April, \^(il,] 




BOSTON: 

DAVID CLA.PP & SON, PRINTERS 334 WASHINGTON STREET. 

1867. 




Class b-^/-? 



MEMOIR 



MARSHALL P. WILDER. 



'/ 



^■'• 



JOHN H. SHEPPARD, A.M 



LIBRARIAN. 



[From the New England Historical and Genealogical Register for April, 1867.] 




BOSTON; 

DAVID CLAPP & SON, PRINTERS 334 WASHINGTON STREET. 

1867. 



^4n 



3-SSSl 
•ol 






1^ 







:Tl7RdL SOCJZjT 



MARSHALL PINCKNEY WILDER. 



To portray the life and labors of one so widely known, and so inti- 
mately connected by numerous official relations with public institu- 
tions and the great industrial enterprises of the age, is an arduous 
and responsible task ; more especially as several sketches of this 
distinguished Horticulturist have already appeared, and a fresh memo- 
rial of his life, though extending to a later period and containing 
many facts which are found in no other narrative, may lack the charm 
of originality. Col. Wilder has long been an honored member of the 
New England Historic-Genealogical Society, and it was by the 
request of the Committee of Publication that he kindly, though 
reluctantly, consented to allow us the use of his Portrait* for this 
number of the Register. For it is the province and object of this Society 
to obtain biographies of benefactors of our country ; and if possible, 
while they are living, to treasure up and record the events of their 
lives, before it is too late and they are lost forever. 

Marshall Pinckney Wilder was born September 22, 1798, at Rindge 
in New Hampshire ; he is the oldest son of Samuel Locke Wilder, 
Esq., and his grandmother was sister of Samuel Locke, D.D., former 
President of Harvard University, from whom his father derived his 
Christian name. With an elder brother his father removed, in 1794, 
to Rindge, from Sterling, anciently a part of Lancaster, Massachu- 
sett i, where they commenced business as merchants. He was repre- 
sentative to the New Hampshire Legislature thirteen years, held im- 
pr tant offices, and was a member of the Congregational Church of 



* This excellent likeness is from a fine steel engraving, formerly executed in connection 
with his services while President of the American Pomological and the United States Agri- 
cultural Societies. 

2 



2i MARSHALL PINCKNEY WILDER. 

that place. He man-ied Miss Anna Sherwin, May 2, IIOT — a lady 
endeared to hei' friends by great moral worth and piety, and a warm 
admirer of the beauties of nature. They had four sons and five 
daughters. In the Indian wars, to which the border settlements were 
peculiarly exposed, and in the Revolution and Shays's rebellion, the 
paternal ancestors of Col. Wilder performed meritorious services ; 
and his grandfather was one of the seven delegates from Worces- 
ter County, in the Convention of Massachusetts, ItSY, who voted in 
favor of the Constitution of the United States. The Worcester Maga- 
zine, Vol. ii. p. 45, bears this testimony : — " Of all the ancient Lan- 
caster families, there is no one that has sustained so many important 
offices as that of Wilder." 

Rindge was incorporated in iT68, and has given birth to several men 
who rose to a high rank in society. It lies six miles to the south of 
Monadnock, and in the midst of hills and forests, with thirteen ponds 
in its embrace. It possesses all the charm of a rural village, sur- 
rounded by picturesque scenery. From one of the heights may be 
traced streams, which from one declivity run into the Merrimack, and 
on the opposite side into the Connecticut. Rindge was famous in the 
Revolution for the daring and patriotism of its citizens ; for hardly 
had the news of the battle of Lexington reached their ears, before a 
company of fifty men was organized, equipped and sent off" in defence 
of their country ; three of whom fell at Bunker Hill. The population 
of the place in 1859 — according to Coolidge's valuable " History and 
Description of New England" — was only 1274. But it should be re- 
collected that many a beautiful and flourishing town in that State 
has been mei-ely the birth-place and nursery of young men who, when 
their education was finished, like fledged birds leaving the maternal 
nest, emigrated to some larger and more enterprising place. The 
granite hills of New Hampshire abound with such instances, producing 
minds like the diamond of the first water. Who can forget Edward 
Payson, the eloquent divine ; Lewis Cass, Levi Woodbury, Jere- 
miah Mason, or that man of massive intellect, Daniel Webster, 
who seemed to wield the artillery of Heaven in the thunders of his 
eloquence ! What a host of eminent men were born and nurtured 
among the highlands of New Hampshire I 

Such was the birth-place of the subject of this memoir. From the 



MARSHALL PINCKNEY WILDER. 3 

door-step of his father's house he could gaze, on a summer morn, on 
hills and valleys, on flocks and herds, and the abodes of industry and 
comfort ; or here, too, by a short ascent, he could behold the majestic 
Monadnock, which from its throne in the air looks down upon a hun- 
dred smiling villages — a mountain from whose summit may be seen 
the White Hills, Ascutney and Wachusett, looming up on the vei'ge 
of the horizon, and afar off a dim view of Boston and the ocean. 

That such rural charms and sublime scenes in childhood had an 
influence on his future career, there can be no doubt ; for his favorite 
pursuits in life and his numerous speeches on public occasions are 
imbued with an enthusiastic love of Nature. Indeed, the brain of a 
child is a busy workshop. The philosopher may study it, but he can- 
not enter into the mysterious working of the boy's mind and predict 
with certainty what the man may be hereafter. The turn for a particu- 
lar pursuit — the tact for some invention or discovery — the talent to 
charm the world by some heroic act, or intellectual power, may lie for 
years in embryo, until time or opportunity call it forth. 

" It may be a sound — 
A tone of music — summer's eve^or spring — 
A flower — the wind — the ocean — ^which shall wound, 
Stinking the electric chain, wherewith we are darlily bound." — Byron. 

The parents of young Marshall well knew the value and importance 
of education, and they sent him to school, at the early age of four 
years. That period and his school-boy days Mr. Wilder has described 
to us in a speech which he made on the 14th of November, 1861. It 
was on the Fortieth Anniversary of the pastorate of the Rev. A. W. 
Burnham, D.D. ; at the celebration of which, several of the sons of 
Rindge, who had long been residents in other places, were present. 
After Dr. B. had delivered an appropriate discourse at the church 
before a large audience, the assembly adjourned to the town hall, deco- 
rated for the festival, and partook of a handsome collation. The pre- 
siding officer, S. B. Sherwin, Esq., then called on the speakers, and the 
floods of memory began to break forth in sweet reminiscences of boy- 
hood. Mr. Wilder drew a graphic picture of his early life, wherein 
he portrayed the old school-house near his father's door — the little 
rods of chastisement " resembling a bundle of apple grafts," behind 
the master's desk, and the evening spelling matches, where each one 



4: MARSHALL PINCKNEY WILDER. 

carried a candle in a turnip to the arena. The whole description is 
so true to nature, and given in so humorous and happy a manner, that 
it is to be regretted that only a few extracts can be given. 

" Who," said he, " that has a soul within him can forget the place of his bii'th, the home 
of his childhood, the old District School where he learned his ABC, the Church where 
he was offered at the baptismal font, or the consecrated gi-ound in which repose the loved 
and lost ones of earth ? " 

Touching his studies, and he had already gone through Adams's 
arithmetic, he quotes a quaint verse — some old college dithyrambic — 

" Multiplication is vexation, 
Division is as bad ; 
The Rule of Three, it puzzles me, 
And Fractions make me mad." 

" "Well, Sir, here I finished my common school education, and entered upon a higher 
course of study, which my venerable father — God be thanked that he is spared to this day — 
hoped would terminate in one of the learned professions. And strange as it may seem, I 
proceeded so far, as to read six or seven books of the ^neid of Virgil ; and now, lest any 
one should doubt the correctness of this statement, I will attempt to construe and translate 
a line which I have not seen .since that time. It ran thus : — ' Musa,' Oh muse; ' memora,' 
declare; ' m.\h\,' to me ; ' causas,' the causes ; 'quo nuraine la;so ' — Ah, Mr. President, my 
memory falters, and I shall leave it to the learned divines by my side to translate the three 
last words." (Laughter). He goes on, " I think, however, I can truly say, that from the 
day my sainted mother first took me into the garden, ' to help dress and to keep it,' I have 
never seen the time when I did not love the cultivation of the soil, and I shall never cease 
to feel that a part of my humble mission on earth is to promote that most honorable and 
useful of all employments." 

He speaks affectionately of " his honored Pastor," and goes on : 

" I can recollect this old Church as it then was, with its high pulpit, spacious galleries and 
its square pews, surmounted with a balustrade, and rail, and how terrified I was if by chance 
I turned one of the rounds and made it squeak, lest I should have disturbed the venerable 
Deacon Biake, whose pew was between that of my fiither and the sacred desk ; and now 
and then in time of service I opened one eye and looked around to espy the handsomest 
young lady in the congregation ; and that here it was my eye caught hers, who became my 
first love and the wife of my youth. Of one other circumstance I have been reminded to- 
day by our honored Pastor, namely, that forty years ago this day I acted as chorister at his 
ordination." 

These quotations need no apology. They seem like photographs 
of long buried friends ; they bring back the halcyon days of boyhood, 
and must call up many delightful recollections to every one who feels 
that the finger of time has touched his brow. And who that ever felt 
grief, would not sympathize with him, when he said : 

" I never return to this good old town — the place of my birth, the home of my youth, 
and in whose sacref' soil repose mj^ mother, my brother and sister, the wife of my youth, 
and some of my children — Init I feel sensations which no language can describe. I never 
revisit this ancient town, but with the first glimpse of her glorious old hills, over which I 



MARSHALL PINCKNEY WILDER. 5 

have roamed in my youth with gun and fishing rod, my soul rises with tlie inspiration of tlie 
scene, and I almost involuntarily exclaim, ' Thank God, I am with you once again ! ' 

' I feci the gales that from ye blow, 
A momentary bliss bestow, 
As waving fresh your gladsome wing 
My buoyant soul you seem to soothe, 
And redolent with scenes of youth, 
I breathe a second spring.' " 

At the age of twelve he was sent to New Ipswich Academy, under 
the care of Master Taylor. At this seminary, which was founded in 
1789, several men of distinction received their early education : among 
whom were S. P. Miles, late principal of the High School, Boston ; 
Rev. Addison Searle, Chaplain in U. S. Navy ; the late Dr. Augustus 
A. Gould, and others, a sketch of whom will be found in the account of 
the xicademy by Frederic Kidder, Esq., in the History of New Ipswich. 
He was there one year, and returning home he was put under the 
tuition of the Rev. Joseph Brown, it being his father's wish that he 
should receive a collegiate education and pursue some profession. 
But Providence otherwise ordered. With his gun and fishing rod, he 
preferred the forests and lakes of his native place and an active life, 
to all the charms of Virgil, though teaching the woodlands to resound 
ever so sweetly with the beautiful Amaryllis. Whatever his studies 
were, or the books he read at that time, he certainly did lay the foun- 
dation of an easy, graceful style of composition, and of much useful 
knowledge. Finally, at sixteen, his father gave him the choice of 
three things — to go to college, be a merchant, or work on the farm ; 
and he chose the last. In this employment, Avhether industrious or 
not, he acquired, by athletic labor and breathing the mountain air, that 
firm, enduring health and manly bearing to which he was indebted for 
such mental and physical energy so man}' years of his life. 

The business of the store, however, had increased to such a degree 
that his father concluded to take him into it ; and it was a wise deci- 
sion. There he began as other boys did, like a sailor before the 
mast, earning his promotion. He acquired habits of industry, method 
and punctuality. Under his excellent and judicious parent, he gained 
a knowledge of trade, he rose in trust, and at last was taken into 
partnership in the mercantile concern. lie was also appointed Post- 
master of Rindge. Soon after, in 1820, he married Miss Tryphosa Jew- 
ett, daughter of Dr. Stephen Jewett, of that place. She was the bride 



6 MARSHALL PINCKNEY WILDER. 

of his youth, on whom he used to look askance at church. She died 
on a visit to her native place, July 31, 1831, leaving four children, as 
named in the genealogy at the close of this memoir. 

He had a taste for military tactics. Enrolled in the N. H. militia 
at sixteen, he made it an object of so much attention and pride, 
that he rose rapidly in office ; at twenty-one he was commissioned as 
Adjutant ; at twenty-five, as Lieut. Colonel, and finally, at twenty-six, 
was chosen Colonel of the Regiment. He organized and equipped an 
independent company in his native town, of which he was chosen 
captain ; and among the New Hampshire mountain boys, there were 
few companies more popular than the Rindge Light Infantry. 

As it is desirable to finish this department in the memoir of his life, 
it may be well to remark hei-e, that after his removal to Boston he 
joined the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company. There was 
a time in the history of this company, when the militia, so important 
as the guardian of peace, the protector of the laws and our dernier 
resort in time of trouble, had lost its influence, become degraded in 
popular favor, and was regarded by too many as a mere census of 
men and arms. Col. Wilder wished to see the militia restored to 
its pristine rank in public opinion, and did all in his power to promote 
a right military spirit for the defence of the country. This Company 
suffered, in common with others, but never lost sight of its an- 
tiquity and former high standing. Chartered in 1638, it has cele- 
brated more than 200 anniversaries, on each of which, with few ex- 
ceptions, some noted clergyman has delivered a sermon. Time has 
hallowed this patriotic festival ; and long, long has its return been a 
gala-day in the city and honored by the people. For twenty-five years 
Col. Wilder had never been absent from this celebration. In looking 
into its early history, it became still more endeared to its members ; for 
it is the only offspring in the world of the Royal Artillery Company 
of London, founded in 1531, and which by virtue of his rank the king 
commanded. 

Col. Wilder, having been nominated four times and declined the 
honor, accepted the command in 185Y. Induced to believe that his 
Royal Highness, Prince Albert, might be the commander of the parent 
company, he entered into a correspondence with him through our Min- 
ister, Geoi'ge M. Dallas, Esq., on the 1st of February, 1857, wherein 



MARSHALL PINCKNEY WILDER. 7 

he remarked : " Permit me also to state, tliat we regard the relation of 
these Companies as one of the many tics which bind young America 
to her old English Parent ; that we fondly cherish the hope, and the 
belief, that these bonds will never be sundered ; and we pray that 
peace and prosperity may crown both nations." 

On receiving this letter. Lord Clarendon, on the 8th of April follow- 
ing, replied, enclosing a list of the present members of the 
Artillery Compan}^ of London, and a copy of the revised Eules 
and Eegulations, and also at his Royal Ilighness's command a copy of 
Highmore's History of the Company to 1802, a scarce book ; and 
said, " His Royal Highness begs that the Company may be informed 
that he cannot but be highly gratified at the manner in which the 
Parent Company, of which he is at the head, is spoken of by its de- 
scendant at Boston ; and he will be much obliged by your having the 
expression of his best thanks conveyed to Col. Wilder, for his kind- 
ness in sending his Royal Highness a copy of the History of the Bos- 
ton Company, which he has looked over with much interest, and will 
have great pleasure in adding to his libi-ary." 

At the 219th Anniversary of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery 
Company, June 1, 1857, the commander, " Col. Wilder, then put the 
question, as to whether his Royal Highness, Prince Albert, Field 
Marshal, Captain General, and Colonel of the Royal Artillery Com- 
pany of London, should be made a Special Honorary Member of the 
Corps — an overwhelming shout of ' aye, aye,' was the response, 
accompanied with great applause." It was voted, on motion of Gen. 
Tyler, that the commander should inform Prince Albert of his election. 
In conclusion. Col. Wilder observed : 

" Gentlemen — I must not trespass longer upon your time. The moment has arrived 
when we slioukl call into action the big guns. But before I close, pennit me to say that 1 
accepted the command of this Company from a conviction that the existence of militaiy 
power is the surest safeguard of civil authoritj', and from a desire to aid in peii^etuating the 
history and fame of our Ancient Corps. For more than two centuries it has stood a faithful 
sentinel on the watch-tower of freedom. There may it stand forever !" [Prolonged 
heering.] 

At the age of twenty-one, he commenced business under the 
firm of S. L. Wilder & Son. This continued till 1825, when he sought 
a wider field and moved to Boston. His acquaintance with military 
men and merchants in New Hampshire, gave him at once an extensive 
trade. In the wholesale W. I. goods business, under the firm of Wilder 



8 MARSHALL PINCKNEY WILDER. 

& Payson, he began iu Union Street : lie pursued it under the 
firm of Wilder & Smith, North Market street ; and then, in his own 
name, at No. 3 Central Wharf, was in the wholesale and importing 
line till ISST. He then became a partner in the Commission 
House of Parker, Blanchard & Wilder, Water street ; afterwards, 
Parker, Wilder & Parker, Pearl street; and at the present time, Parker, 
Wilder & Co., Winthrop square, in a warehouse which is one of the 
most capacious and elegant structures in the city. This firm has also 
a branch in New York. Mr. Wilder has passed through various 
crises of commercial embarrassment, yet he has never failed to moot 
his obligations and maintain a fair and honorable reputation, and has 
been successful in business. 

As a merchant his character stood high. He was sought for 
to fill stations of responsibility and trust. He was an original director 
in the Hamilton Bank and National Insurance Company, and has 
held those offices for more than thirty years ; he has been a director for 
twenty years in the Mutual Life Insurance Company, and also in other 
institutions of the kind. The Merchants' Magazine for January, 1855, 
No. 187, contains a' portrait and well drawn sketch of the principal 
events of his life to that date, and the description of his indefatigable 
perseverance, his urbanity as a gentleman, and his appearance at the 
desk of his counting-room, surrounded by files and masses of letters 
from numerous correspondents, is there faithfully portrayed. 

But trade and wealth were not the all-engrossing pursuits of his 
mind ; though too often the sole objects of those, who, absorbed in 
the details of commerce, become men of one idea — their horizon bound- 
ed by the money market — their delight in laying up for themselves 
treasures upon earth — until, with care-worn looks and anxious greed 
for more and more, they die, "passing through nature to eternity." 
Far from this was the philanthropic spirit of Mr. Wilder. In his pros- 
perity he saw a wide field opening before him in which he could do 
good to others and benefit his country. He devoted a suitable time 
to business, and all his leisure to horticultural and agricultural pur- 
suits. He spared no expense, he rested from no labors, to instil into 
the public mind a taste for such honorable and useful employments. 
He cultivated his grounds, imported trees, seeds and plants from dis- 
tant countries, and thus by his example he endeavored to assist and 
elevate the rank of the husbandman. 



MARSHALL PINCKNEY WILDER. » 

Those who have resided long in Boston can well recollect the 
change which has taken place ia oui' fruit market within a few years. 
They must have noticed with admiration the abundance of pears, 
apples, peaches, and strawberries of various kinds and delicious flavor, 
which in their season crowd the fruit stands ; flowers, too, of surpass- 
ing beauty and rareness bloom in our conservatories, ready to adorn 
the festival or soften the sorrows of the grave. Whence comes this 
astonishing improvement in the most salubrious as well as the most 
ornamental luxuries of life ? Go to the green-house, the suburban 
garden, or the large fruit-nursery, and inquire their history, and you 
will find they are the work of a few enterprising men, among whom 
the subject of this memoir stands in the foremost rank. 

It has been already remarked, that in the year 1831 he was 
bereaved of her who was the " wife of his youth." She left four 
young children, and the home where he had been so happy was turned 
into gloom and darkness. He sought a change of residence, and find- 
ing a spot, which, from his love of rural life, was calculated to assuage 
his sorrow and loneliness by useful employment, he in 1832 pur- 
chased the country seat in Dorchester, originally built by Governor 
Increase Sumner, on the Roxbury line, and near Grove Hall ; here 
he has resided for thirty-five years. It is about three and a half 
miles from Boston. The house stands back from the road, on a lovely 
spot, in the midst of sylvan scenery. He has a handsome and choice 
library, to which he is no stranger — a large garden, orchard, green- 
houses, and a forest of fruit trees. He seems early to have learned 
and practised, in all his pursuits, one of those grand principles which 
influence the whole course of life, the philosophy of habit — a power 
almost omnipotent for good or evil in human destiny. He is an early 
riser, and devotes the morning to study or writing, or in the season 
of cultivation to his men in the garden, directing their labors and often 
assisting them, and in the middle of the day attends to his mercantile 
affairs in the city. The evening is spent with his family and his books. 
Every thing is done by method and system. Numerous letters from 
abroad are received and answered. Thus passed several years while 
he was acquiring that knowledge and skill in the raising of fruits 
and flowers, which prepared him for the usefulness and honor which 
he attained. He could now speak from experience. He has in his 



10 MARSHALL PINCKNEY WILDER. 

collection of the numerous plants and trees, 2500 pear trees, and has 
had more than 800 varieties of this fruit in his grounds. But, there 
is something so peculiar in the love and pursuit of knowledge, that it 
cannot rest alone, shut up and watched like the treasures of a miser ; 
we long to impart it to others, and spread its blessings among them. 
Possessing this disposition, we find him joining or forming societies, 
in which he soon took the lead. Of such, a brief account will now 
claim the attention of the reader. 

A charter was granted, June 12, 1829, to Zebedee Cook, Jr., Robert 
L. Emmons, William Worthington, B. V. French, John B. Russell, 
J, R. Newell, Cheever Newhall, and Thomas G. Fessenden with their 
associates, as a Massachusetts Horticultural Society. Gen. Henry 
A. S. Dearborn was elected its first President; Col. Wilder soon after 
joined it ; and although their names do not appear among the grantees 
of the charter, yet in its early operations they were among its efficient 
and most energetic supporters. It was a darling object of Gen. 
Dearborn — and he soon found a warm coadjutor in Col. Wilder — to 
make the institution a blessing to the public and an honor to its 
members. He spent years in laying out and embellishing the grounds 
of Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge ; and to him Forest Hills 
Cemetery in Roxbury owes its origin and much of the striking but 
not gloomy scenery which surrounds that home of the dead. The 
grateful proprietoi's have erected a handsome monument to the mem- 
ory of this excellent man, whose honored friendship the writer of this 
article regards among the sweetest reminiscences of his earlier days. 

Many men of note early belonged to the Massachusetts Horticultural 
Society: John Lowell, Elias Phinney, Henry Colman, Robert Man- 
ning, Samuel G. Perkins and Alexander H. Everett, and also Judge 
Story and Daniel Webster, par nobile fralrum. Alas ! not one of 
them survives. 

Soon after the Society was formed, Dr. Jacob Bigclow, who for 
many years had been seeking an opportunity to found a Cemetery out 
of the city for the burial of the dead, suggested the expediency of 
purchasing Mount Auburn for this object, and also for an Experimen- 
tal Gai'den. He presented a plan to the Society, and Gen. Dearborn, 
the President, was instructed to visit and examine the spot, and report 
on its adaptation. 



MARSHALL PINCKNEY WILDER. 11 

The result was favorable. The premises, under the name of 
*' Sweet Auburn," were owned by George W. Brimmer, Esq., who had 
commenced laying out and embellishing the grounds for his private 
residence ; but on solicitation he consented to dispose of them for 
$6000. On the report of Gen. Dearborn, resolutions were passed 
authorizing a purchase, provided a hundred gentlemen could be found 
to take burial lots at sixty dollars each ; which was done, Mr. Wilder 
being one of the number, and a conveyance was made ; and thus 
Mount Auburn was originally established as a Cemetery and Experi- 
mental Garden. " But the proprietors of these lots were not de facto 
members of the Horticultural Association, and in 1835 expressed a 
desire for a separation of the Cemetery from the Society. On Mr. 
Wilder's motion, a committee representing each of these interests 
was appointed, to mature a plan and agree on the conditions of 
separation. This body, of which Judge Story was chairman, 
acting for the proprietors of the cemetery, as Mr. Wilder and his 
associate, Hon, "Elijah Vose, did for the members of the Horticultural 
Society, made many unsuccessful attempts at agreement, till the 
Judge, despairing of a union, arose and left the room. This was a 
critical moment for both institutions. Mr. W. saw the danger, and 
following the Judge, besought him to return, at the same time pledg- 
ing him the most cordial co-operation in a new proposition for a set- 
tlement. They returned, and having resumed their seats, the subject 
of this sketch submitted a resolution, providing that one fourth part 
of the gross proceeds from the annual sale of lots, after deducting 
certain expenses, should be paid year by year by the proprietors to 
the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, in consideration of its re- 
linquishing its right and title to the same."* This resolution prevailed, 
and became the basis of the separation of these two interests — a 
transaction in the highest degree beneficial to both — enabling the 
proprietors of Mount Auburn Cemetery to prosecute their world- 
renowned object with more singleness of purpose, and with greater 
success ; and also placing at the disposal of the Horticultural Society a 
considerable portion of the funds for the erection of a Hall in School 
street, and since for the elegant Temple in Tremont street. This in" 

* " Portraits of Eminent Americans now living," by John Livingston, 1854. 



12 MARSHALL PINCKNEY WILDER. 

come is both annual and perpetual, and the present year amounts to 
more than eight thousand dollars. 

In 1840, Mr. Wilder was chosen the fourth President of the Society 
— an office to which he was annually elected for eight years. His first 
effort was to erect a Horticultural Hall. Being chairman of the 
building committee, which could not agree on a site, he and Josiah 
Stickney, Esq. purchased on private account the old Latin school- 
house in School street, and offered it to the Society, which was ac- 
cepted. Mr. Wilder was requested, on the 14th day of September, 
1841, to lay the comer stone ; and on that day, in presence of the 
members and a large assembly of spectators, the ceremony was per- 
formed. In his address he observes : 

" I cannot conclude my remarks without alluding to an act whicli should never he for- 
gotten, a meritoi-ious one — and be it ever remembered, that to this Society the community 
are indebted for the foundation and consecration of Mount Auburn Ccmeteiy — that hal- 
lowed resting place for the dead — that ' Garden of Graves.' Noble act ! glorious deed ! a 
measure calculated to reflect honor on any institution, and I doubt not it will redound to 
the credit of this, and will be gratefully remembered while this corner stone endures, and 
when we and the members of this institution shall be quietly reposing in the ' Field of 
Peace,' or sleeping beneath the sods of the valley." 

A fine granite structure, ornamental to the city, was soon erected. 
It contained a hall for exhibition, library, committee room, and every 
convenience for that time. It was dedicated in the presence of Hon. 
John Quincy Adams, Gov. Briggs, and other distinguished gentlemen ; 
and an ornate and appropriate address was delivered by the Hon. 
George Lunt. But in a few years this Hall proved insufficient. 
The increasing interest and enterprise of the Society demanded a 
still more commodious edifice, especially for the splendid contri- 
butions of fruits and flowers. An offer of $'70,000 for the estate hav- 
ing been made by Mr. H. D. Parker— which was much more than the 
cost — they sold it to him, and he built on the spot an elegant addition 
to the Parker House, with its marble fagade. On removal of the 
building, in 185T, the box containing the plate, documents, coins 
and memorials was opened, by order of the Society, by Mr. Wilder 
in presence of the members, the plate not being in the least tar- 
nished, though sixteen years had elapsed. It was resealed, and de- 
posited with the new box of memorials and documents, when the cor- 
ner stone of the present superb Hall was laid in 1865. 



MARSHALL PINCKNEY WILDER. 13 

The erection of the first Horticultural Hall and the exhibitions at- 
tracted public attention more and more ; and these were occasionally 
closed by a grand festival, in which ladies and gentlemen participated. 

The Triennial Celebration of the Horticultural Society on Friday, the 
19th day of September, 1845, at Fancuil Hall, was a brilliant and im- 
posing spectacle ; whether we consider the assemblage of beauty — the 
array of intellectual power — or the display of fruits and flowers, in 
almost endless variety, which ornamented the tables, as though Flora 
and Pomona had met within the walls of this hallowed temple, and 
breathed a celestial aroma on the place. This joyous banquet com- 
memorated their ITth anniversary. 

Faneuil Hall had been fitted up with great taste, and was superbly 
decorated with wreaths and evergreens, roses and festoons of flowers. 
The panels of the galleries were filled on one side with the names of 
Lowell, Buel, Fessenden, Prince, Manning and Michaux : — on the 
other side with Loudon, Van Mons, Knight, Jussieu, Duhamel and 
Douglass, and in front those of Linnajus and De Candolle. Thirteen 
tables were spread with viands, fruits and bouquets — ^luxuries from 
abroad or the rich growth of suburban gardens. Surrounding these 
appeared six hundred ladies and gentlemen, and on the platform, with 
a seat a little raised for the President, sat Daniel Webster, the vener- 
able Josiah Quincy, Eobert C. Wiuthrop, Caleb Cushing, Geo. S. Hil- 
lard, and delegates from other States ; and there was the Rev. Dr. 
John Codman, the pastor of Col. Wilder, who invoked the blessing. 
Over all this festal scene the portrait of the immortal Washington 
hung from the walls, stirring up the memory of his glory and love of 
rural life. And, as though it needed one more eminent Bostonian 
there to make the festival complete in all its parts, suddenly a Com- 
mittee at the door announced the arrival of a guest, who on reaching 
the platform was introduced by the President in this happy manner : — 

" Ladies and Gentlemen : It is witli feelings of high gratiiication that I am enabled to 
present to you a distinguished member of our association, who after an absence of seve- 
ral years of honorable service at the Court of St. James, has this day arrived on the 
shores of New England. I introduce to your cordial gi-eeting, his Excellency Edward 
Everett." [Great applause.] 

Many excellent sentiments, accompanied with music and original 

songs, enlivened the occasion, but they must be passed over and only 

a few extracts oflered from the eloquent speeches which crowned the 



14 MARSHALL PINCKNEY WILDER. 

banquet. The President commenced with a few appropriate remarks 
on the institution, and observed — 

" Sixteen years ago this day, its first exhibition was held in the Exclmnge Coffee House 
in this city, and as an illustration of the great success and prosperity that has attended the 
efforts of its members, I quote from the published Report of the Society. The number of 
the contributors on that occasion was thii1y-two ; the baskets and dishes of fruits less than 
one hundred ; and the amount of premiums offered, less than $200. And as a further 
illustration, I notice by this Report that the contribution of Robert Manning, the Pomolo- 
gist of America, consisted of but one basket of peaches ; while at the present exhibition, 
the family of that lamented man have sent us 210 varieties of the pear. And in a note I 
received from him a short time previous to his decease, he stated that he had gathered into 
his own collection, from a point of time but a few years antecedent to the formation of the 
institution, nearly 2,000 varieties of fruits." . . . 

" I congratulate the Society on the liberal and increasing pati-onage of the community— on 
the addition of more than lOD new members to its ranks, during the last nine months— 
on the continued improvement in the productions exhibited— on the honorable and elevated 
standing our institution sustains both at home and abroad— and on the harmony and union 
that prevail among us." .... 

The President then proposed — 

" Our late Minister to the Court of St. James. We honor him as a scholar, we respect 
him as a statesman, and we love him as a noble specimen of the fruits of New England 
culture." [Loud cheers.] 

Mr. Everett — 

" I am greatly indebted to you for this cordial reception. I cannot but feel under great 
obligations to the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, of which I have long had the honor 
of being a member — though a very unprofitable one — that the first voice of salutation which 
reached me on returning home, proceeded from them. Our respected fellow-citizens, 
Messrs. Josiah Bradlee and Stephen Fairbanks, on their morning stroll through East Bos- 
ton, were good enough, before I had set foot on terra firma, to convey to me your kind 
invitation I regret that I am so little able to thank you in a proper man- 
ner. I have been so lately rocking upon the Atlantic, whose lullaby is not always the gen- 
tlest, that I am hardly fit for rocking in the * Old Cradle of Libertj',' to which your kind 
note of this morning invited me. I almost unconsciously catch at the table to steady myself, 
expecting that the flowers and fruits will fetch away in some lee-lurch ; and even the pillars 
of Old Faneuil Hall, not often found out of the true plumb-hne, seem to reel over my 
head. . . . 

" The shores of Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, as we coasted along them, seemed to 
have a claim upon us, as a part of our native continent, and made us feel that we had at 
length crossed the world-dividing deep : — and when about sunrise this morning, after 
stretching down from Halifiix, against a stiff south-wester, I beheld Cape Ann light-house 
at a dim and misty distance, I must say that I thought it one of the most beautiful pieces of 
architecture I ever beheld. I do not know to what particular order it belongs, nor the pro- 
portion of the height to the diameter. And as to the ornaments of the capital, Mr. Presi- 
dent, whether they are acanthus or lotus, or any other flower in your conservatory, I am 
quite unable to say : — but this I will say, that after seeing many of the finest buildings in 
the old world and the new, I came to the conclusion, at about six o'clock this morning, that 
Cape Ann Light-house beats them all." [Applause.] . . . 

, The President then gave — 

" The Marshfield Farmer. ♦ All head in counsel, all wisdom in speech : ' — always ready to 
defend the soil and to make the soil more and more worth defending." 



MARSHALL PINCKNEY WILDER. 15 

To which Mr. Webster responded — 

" Ladies and Gentlemen : There arc far better farmers in Marshficid than I am, 1)ut as I sec 
none of them present, I suppose that I am bound to take the compliment to myself. . . . 
Mr. President, as it has been said from the chair, and in the sentiments round the taljle, it 
is our fortune in New England to live beneath a somewhat rugged sk}', and till a some- 
what hard and unyielding earth ; but something of hardness, of unfavorable condition and 
circumstixnccs, seems necessary to excite human genius, labor and skill, and luring forth 
the results most useful and honorable to man. I greatly doubt whether all the luxuriance 
of the tropics, and all that grows under the fervid sky of the equator, can equal the exhibition 
of flowers made to-day amid these northern latitudes. Here, there is all the l)rilliancy of color 
and all the gorgeous display of tropical regions ; but there, the display is made in swamps 
and jungles abounding in noxious reptiles ; it is not the result of cultivation, taste and hu- 
man labor working on the capacity of Nature. Sir, I congratulate you that our flowers 

are not 

' Born to blush unseen 
And waste their sweetness on the desert air.' 

The botany we cultivate, the productions of the business of horticulture, the plants of the 
garden, are cultivated with us, by hands as delicate as their own tendrils, viewed by coun- 
tenances as spotless and pure as their own petals, and watched by ej'cs as brilliant and full 

of lustre as their own beautiful exhibitions of splendor. [Applause.] Mr. 

President, we who belong to the class of f\xrmers are compelled to bring nothing but our 
applause to those whose taste, condition and position enable them to contribute these horti- 
cultural excellences which we see around us. But the honor Ijclongs to the State, and I 
shall not ti'cspass beyond the bounds of reason and justice, if I say that there could no- 
where, noiohere be a more perfect and tasteful exhibition of horticultural products than we 
have witnessed in this city the present week. Let this good work speed. May this good 
work go prospering and to prosper. And as we live in a country wliieh produces a race of 
hard working men, and the most useful fruits of the earth, so let us show every year that 
it is not less productive of beautiful flowers — as it certainly is not of graceful hands to 
entwine them." [Applause.] .... 

He was followed by the Hon. Josiah Quincy, late President of Har- 
vard University, and by the Hon. Robert C. Winthrop, in appropriate 
remarks, which the want of space forbids us to insert. 

To the toast given by the President — 

" The Central Floioery Nation of China. We welcome the man who has united by 
closer tics the gardens of the East and the gardens of the West, our late Minister to the 
Celestial Empire — " 

The Hon. Caleb Gushing replied, in a few eloquent remarks : 

. . " Here alone — here, and in Christian lands, woman enchants and beautifies with her 
presence the festive scene. Woman, our equal — shall I not say our moral superior. It is 
only here that such a scene can gladden the human eye. I regard this exhibition as a 
striking proof of the point which education and intellectual refinement have reached in our 
country, that we have got beyond mere utility, and ceasing to inquire how far it is incom- 
patible with beauty, have found that the beautiful is itself useful. We have learned to ad- 
mire art — to appreciate painting and sculpture — and to look upon fruits and flowers as models 
of delicacy and beauty. And although it is said that Massachusetts produces nothing but the 
ice of her lakes and the granite of her hills, yet we know that she also produces men, free- 
hearted, high-minded, noble-purposed men and women — the fiiirest and best. They are 
also the most beautiful gi-o^vtli of the land. It is here that we have the best proof of the 
intellectual and moral elevation to which our favored State has ascended." 



16 MARSHALL PINCKNEY WILDER. 

To a toast, " The Boston Orators,'^ Mr. Hillard responded in his 
usually elegant style : 

..." Your triumphs and successes arc recorded upon a page wide as the living land- 
scape, and bounded by no margin less than the horizon. Every tree which waves in the 
wind is vocal with your good works, and every flower that holds up its painted cup to drink 
the dew of the morning seems redolent with yom* praise." 

And he concluded with offering the following sentiment — 

•' The Gardens of our Country. May the apple of discord never grow there, nor the ser- 
pent of disunion glide among their bowers." 

The Third Triennial Celebration of the Horticultural Society was 
held at Faneuil Hall, Sept. 22, 1848. It was embellished in a similar 
style as the other festivals. Upon the supporting columns of an arch, 
were the names of Dearborn, Cook, Vose and Wilder, Presidents of 
the Society, on one side ; and on the other, those of Appleton, Brad- 
lee, Lowell, and Lyman, benefactors. A large assemblage of ladies and 
gentlemen were at the banquet. Among the guests on the platform, 
on the right of the President, sat Madam Alexander Hamilton, 
and around were the Clergy, Kobert C. Winthrop, Speaker of the H. 
of Kepresentatives in Congress, Josiah Quincy, Jr., Mayor of Boston, 
Ex-Gov. Seward of New York, the venerable Josiah Quincy, Ex-Pres. 
of Harvard University, Gen. H. A. S. Dearborn, John S. Skinner of 
Philadelphia, A. J. Downing of New York, Morton McMichael, 
Chairman of Delegation from the Pennsylvania Society, Hon. James 
Arnold, President of the New Bedford Society, Dr. Thompson of the 
Delaware Society, and delegates from many kindred associations. 
Kev. Wm. M. Eogers asked the blessing. 

Sentiments and speeches followed the dinner. An extract is of- 
fered from the parting Address of the President, as he tendered his 
resignation ; and, as one of the sentiments reminds us, it was on his 
fiftieth birth-day. Mr. Wilder said — 

" But the time has arrived when in my own judgment it is proper that I should signify 
my intention to take official leave — and this I now do. If honor has attached to the office, 
I have surely had it lavished on me — if labor and anxiety, then I humbly claim to have 
borne my share ; but wherever I live or wherever I may go, the name of the Massachusetts 
Horticultural Society will cause a thrill of joy and pleasure, until this heart shall cease to 
beat ; and should I be so fortunate as to retain in your hearts an affectionate remembrance, 
it will be my highest honor, my richest reward. 

" One of the best pieces of advice that great writer, Sir Walter Scott, ever gave was to 
plant a tree. ' When you have time,' said he, ^ plant a tree, it will be growing when you 
are sleeping.' Yes, ladles and gentlemen, when we are sleeping in the dust, and generations 
shall rise up and bless us for the deed, and 

' Our children's children shall enjoy the fruit.' 



MARSHALL PINCKNEY WILDER. 17 

And as an inheritance in my fiiraily, after that of a good moral and religious education, one 
of the greatest blessings which I desire to leave for them, is a garden well stocked with 
fmit and flowers ; and when they are partaking of these luxuries of God's bounty, will 
they not shed a tear of gi-ititude and remember the hand that planted it ? 

" The time will not permit extended remarks — one word, however, as to the future 
prospects of our Society. They are of the most cheering character. Within the last five 
years its list of members has liecn more than doubled ; its new Hall, in School street, erected 
and furnished ; its funds considerably augmented, and although its expenditures are on a 
arge and liberal scale, yet it is 1)elieved that with its income from Mount Auburn, the day 
is not distant when its sinking fund will extinguish the debt, and leave means commensu- 
rate for all reasonable wants. 

" For eight years I have annually been elected as its President, and since my first 
election, with but two dissenting votes — a unanimity fai- beyond my merit, and for which, 
and the cordial and vigorous support I have received from my otficial associates, I desire now 
and ever to cherish the most profound thankfulness and gratitude." 

Mr. Webster then arose and said, " Ladies and Gentlemen, I have 
obtained leave of the President to remind this company that a venera- 
ble lady honors this occasion with her presence. She is the daugh- 
ter of Gen. Philip Schuyler, of the Revolutionary army, and the widow 
of Alexander Hamilton." [Great cheering.] 

To this the President responded in behalf of Madam Hamilton. 

He then announced this sentiment — alluding to Faneuil Hall Market 

and the Cochituate water : 

" The City of Boston. Among her varieties of fmits, she has two Quincy's (Quinces) 
which she intends to preserve — one in ' granite ' the other in ' piu'e water.' " 

In reply to this, his Honor Josiah Quincy, Jr., rose ; but for the 
eloquent remarks of himself and other distinguished men, I am com- 
"pelled to refer to the Report of the " Twentieth Annual Exhibition of 
the M. H. Society," September, 1848. The sentiments were full of 
wit, and the speeches of a high order. They will fully reward the 
reader of that pamphlet. One short paragraph must suffice. Gen. 
Dearborn, first President of the Society, observed, " When, riding 
through our highways, I see one shrub by the door or flower pot in the 
window, I consider it the emblem of virtue and refinement, of all that 
is good and commendable in man or woman, and I say to myself ' That 
is a good family, well managed, well educated, and in the right way to 
respect and confidence.' " 

When the President retired. Vice President French, after a just 
compliment to his talents, skill and fidelity, oflfered this senti- 
ment : 

" The President of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society. May the remainder of his 
life be as prosperous and happy, as his former years have been brilliant and useful to his 
country." 

4 



18 MARSHALL PINCKNEY WILDER. 

With the close of this year, Mr. Wilder's administration as Presi- 
dent terminated — long to be remembered as a successful and brilliant 
period in the history of the Society. Votes of thanks were passed 
by them, as a testimonial of their gratitude for his labors and services, 
accompanied with complimentary resolutions, and a superb silver 
pitcher, of the value of one hundred and fifty dollars. 

That the partiality of friends has not exaggerated nor the lapse of 

nearly twenty years depreciated the importance of his services, will 

appear by the following extracts from the Address of Charles M. 

Hovey, Esq., President of the Society, at laying the corner-stone of 

the Hall in Tremont street, September 3, 1864 : 

" But it is since the completion of the former Hall, that the progress of the Society has 
been more rapid, and its influence felt throughout the country. New life and fresh vitality 
were infused into the Society. It had the sympathy as it had the substantial aid of the 
public. It was appreciated as its founders intended it should be. Its objects seemed all 
at once to become apparent." 

Also at the Dedication of the same, September, 1865 : 

" Fortunate was the Society in having in its presiding officer one who was so thoroughly 
imbued with the love of Horticulture, whose leisure hours were devoted to its pursuits, 
whose means enabled him to introduce various new fruits, plants and flowers, and whose 
distinguished services in Pomology continue up to this day, though now lessened by 
illness ; but whose presence we hail to-day with more than ordmary pleasure after an 
absence of nearly two years." 

Floriculture was not neglected while he held this office. His 
Camellia house was supposed to have contained the best collection in 
the country at that time, and would compare favorably with any thing 
of the kind abroad. Of the history of this plant he furnished an article 
in Hovey's Magazine of Horticulture, Vol. i. p. 13, " Observations on 
the Camellia, with some account of its introduction into Great Britain 
and this country." He had many hundred varieties of this elegant 
tribe, with thousands of plants and seedlings secured by Hybridiza- 
tion, of which he gave a scientific account in the Proceedings of the 
Massachusetts Horticultural Society, Vol. i. p. 35, " The Hybridiza- 
tion of the Camellia and its varieties." In honor of the producer, 
the Society named one of these plants Camellia Wilderii, the other 
Mrs. Abby Wilder, and awarded him a premium of fifty dollars. 
Colored plates of them handsomely executed may be seen in the Illus- 
trated volumes of the above periodical. The stock of these two 
varieties he disposed of to Mr. Warren for $1000, who afterwards 
sold some of the plants at a high price in this country and in 
Europe. Other seedlings have been dedicated to members of his family. 



MARSHALL PINCKNEY WILDER. 



19 



But it was in Pomology that Mr. Wilder greatly excelled, and was 
so widely known. He had imported fruit trees from England, France, 
Belgium and Germany. His correspondence at home and abroad 
was extensive. No pains, no expense was spared to disseminate trees 
and grafts of the best kinds of fruit. Mr. Livingston justly remarks, 
" In his orchards the pear occupies a place corresponding with that 
of the Camellia in his green-houses." More than three hundred 
varieties of the pear have been brought from his grounds to a single 
exhibition, and for several years he took the first premium of the Mas- 
sachusetts Horticultural Society for the best collection. The peculiar 
manner in which he preserved them until spring he communicated 
by request to the Agricultural Society, in 1852, and published an 
account of it in the New England Farmer, Vol. iv. p. 103. 

After his resignation of the presidency of the Massachusetts Hor- 
ticultural Society, he headed a circular in which several kindred 
institutions joined, for a convention of fruit growers, with the object 
of promoting and disseminating knowledge of pomology throughout 
the country ; and on the 10th of October, 1848, a large meeting, com- 
posed of influential gentlemen from various States, was held, under 
the auspices of the American Institute, New York. They organized, 
unanimously chose Mr. Wilder their President, and adopted the 
name of the " National Congress of Fruit Growers." 

But, the march of improvement is not always smooth ; a cloud 
will sometimes rise in the most auspicious sky. "Without opposi- 
tion," says Mr. Livingston, " another meeting of pomologists was held 
in connection with the New York State Agricultural Society's annual 
exhibition, and was organized as the ' National Pomological Conven- 
tion.' " This was a damper. Two societies of a similar kind could not 
co-operate so successfully, or bring such power and influence to bear 
on this important object, as the united efforts of one grand associa- 
tion. They therefore chose a joint committee of conference, of 
which Mr. Wilder was chairman, and the result was a consolidation 
under the name of the American Pomological Congress, since al- 
tered to the American Pomological Society. They agreed on bien- 
nial celebrations — one at Cincinnati in the autumn of 1850, the next 
at Philadelphia in 1852. From that time the union has been cordial, 



20 MARSHALL PINCKNEY WILDER. 

and greatly beneficial to the public. Mr. Wilder, being detained by 
domestic affliction, was not present at Cincinnati, and Dr. W. D. 
Brinckle, of Philadelphia, was elected to the chair ; but at the next 
meeting he resigned the office and Mr. Wilder was re-elected. 

An event, however, had occurred shortly before this, which cast a 
gloom over all hearts devoted to rural taste and science. Andrew 
Jackson Downing, of Newburg, New York, for whom Mr. Wilder had 
long cherished a warm friendship, and who had co-operated with him in 
the formation of this Society, perished in the Henry Clay, when that 
steamer was burnt on the Hudson Eiver, July 28, 1852. The loss of 
such a man was a heavy blow to the whole community. His publi- 
cations and labors had a world-wide reputation. He wrote that popu- 
lar work, " Fruits and Fruit Trees of America," dedicated to Mr. 
Wilder, who was requested by the Horticultural Societies of Massa- 
chusetts and Pennsylvania, to prepare his Eulogy for the approaching 
convention at Philadelphia, in September. It was one of his happiest 
productions, worthy of the friend whose loss he deplored. A few 
extracts are all our limited space will allow : 

" But Downing has gone ! His seat in this Congress is vacant ; another will make the 
report which was expected from him. We shall much miss his wise and leading counsels 
in our deliberations and discussions, his prompt and energetic action in our endeavors to 
advance the worthy objects of this association, in the origin and progress of which his 
energy was so conspicuous. He has gone ! He is numbered with those pati'ons and pro- 
moters of the ornamental and useful arts who rest from their labors— with the erudite and 
sage Pickering, the wise and laborious Buel, the ardent and scientific Mease, the humorous 
and poetic Fessenden, the practical and enterprising Lowell, the tasteful and enthusiastic 
Dearborn, the indefatigable and vei-satile Skinner, the scientific Loudon, and others of noble 
designs and enduring fiime. Tliese have fallen around us like the leaves of autumn ; and 
Providence now calls us to inscribe on that star-spangled roll the cherished name of Down- 
ing, struck down suddenly, when his sun was at the zenith of his glory. 

, " He rests in the bosom of his mother earth, in the city of his birth and in the sepulchre 
of his fathers, on the banks of that beautiful river, where his boyhood sported, and where 
the choicest scenery inspired his opening mind with the love of nature— a spot which will 
be dear to the thousands of his admu-ers, and which our love to him will constrain us to 
visit. We may resort to his hospitable mansion ; but he will no longer gi-eet us with his 
cordial salutation, nor extend to us the right hand of fellowship. We may wend our way 
through his beautiful grounds ; but he will not be there to accompany us. Instead of his 
pleasant and instructive voice, which once dropped words of wisdom and delight on our 
ear, we shall hear the trees mournfully sighing in the breezes — the cypress moaning his 
funeral dirge, and the willow weeping in responsive grief ' because he is not.' ' His mortal 
has put on immortality.' 

" When we think of the place which he occupied in the heails of his countrymen and 
contemporaries — the expanding interest which he has awakened in the rural arts, the refine- 
ments and comforts of society — of his plans, which others, inspired by his genius, will 
unfold and consummate — and of his works which will be admired when the tongues that 



MARSHALL PINCKNEY WILDER. 21 

now praise him shall be silent in death, our sense of justice accords to him an earthly im- 
mortality — a fame which history will cherish, art adorn, and grateful posterity revere." * 

The next session of the American Pomological Society was in Bos- 
ton, Sept. 13, 1854, which was enlivened by a Levee at the Eevere 
House, given by Mr. Wilder to the members on the occasion. It met 
at Rochester, N. Y., in September, 1856 ; in the city of New York in 
1858 ; at Philadelphia in 1860 ; in Boston in 1862 ; at Rochester, N. 
Y. in 1864; and was to meet at St. Louis, Mo., 1866, but from the 
prevalence of the cholera there, the meeting was postponed to the 
present year, 186Y, Mr. Wilder continuing as President. The fol- 
lowing paragraphs have been selected from his Addresses at some of 
these meetings. 

At Rochester, 1856. 
After discoursing on the disappointments and obstacles incident to 
the cultivation of fruit, he observes : 

" Let notliing discourage you in this hopeful department of pomology. Go on, per- 
severe ; 

' Give new endeavors to the mystic art, 
Try every scheme, and riper views impart ; 
Who knows what meed thy labors may await ? 
What glorious fruits thy conquest may create f ' 

" These are triumphs worthy of the highest ambition, conquests which leave no wound 
on the heart of memoiy, no stain on the wing of time. He, who only adds one really valu- 
able variety to om* list of fruits, is a pubhc benefactor. I had rather be the man who plant- 
ed that umbrageous tree, from whose bending branches future generations shall pluck the 
luscious fruit, when I am sleeping beneath the clods of the valley, than he who has conquered 
armies. I would prefer the honor of introducing the Baldwin apple, the Seckel pear, 
Hovey's Seedling strawbeiiy, aye, or the Black Tartarian cheny from the Crimea, to the 
proudest victorj' which has been won upon that blood-stained soil. 

" Let us endeavor to disseminate the knowledge of the few among the many, that we 
may improve the public taste, add to the wealth of our republic, and confer on our country- 
men the blessings of our favorite art. Thus shaU we make other men happy, and keep 
them so — render our own homes the abodes of comfort and contentment, and hasten the 
time when the garden shall feel no blight, the fruitful field laugh vnth abundance, and 
rivers of gladness water the earth." 

* Mr. Downing was a friend to whom Mr. Wilder was much attached. There was a 
shnilarity of pursuits and a congeniality of tastes in their lives. And what lover of Na- 
ture can ever look upon the cozy cottage with its little garden, the elegant villa, and the 
beautiful landscape scenery in our suburban improvements, without realizing how much 
we owe to the genius of Downing — a man who delighted to make others happy even in 
the humblest condition of humanity. 

The loss of such a man brings to mind the elegiac ode of Horace, when lamenting the 
death of Quintilius, so dear to Yirgil : 

Multis ille bonis flebillis occidit, 
Nulli flebillior quam tibi Virgili. 

Though many a good man mourned the dead, 
No tears lilse thine for him were shed. 



22 MARSHALL PINCKNEY WILDER. 

New York, 1858. 
In speaking of the enjoyments of such a pursuit and its influences, 
he says : 

" And bow delightful is the employment of the pomologist, going forth among his well- 
trained trees : 

' To visit how they prosper, bud and bloom.' 
His love is always young and fresh, ever approaching them Mith keener relish and increased 
affection. They, in return, recompensing eveiy kind attention, ' clap their hands for joy,' 
and like those flowers of Paradise touched by the fair hand of Eve, 7no7-e gladly grow. 

" The more I investigate the laws of vegetable physiology, the more I am filled with won- 
der and reverence at the benevolent provisions of nature — at the instructive lessons which 
she teaches. Our trees — from the opening bud to the golden harvest — from the laying off 
of their gay autumnal liverj% and during their rest in winter's shroud, waiting a resurrec- 
tion to a new and superior life, are all eloquent preachers, proclaiming to our inmost soul — 

' The hand that made us is Divine.' 

" Taught by their counsels, who does not admire the wisdom, perfection and beauty of 
this fair creation ! The tiny bud, encased in coats of mail so that the rude blasts may not 
visit it too roughly, rivalling in its mechanism the human eye, and destined to perpetuate 
its own species distinctive as the soul of man ! the enamelled blossom, unfolding her vir- 
gin bosom to the warm embrace of vernal air, bespangling the orchard with starry spray 
scarcely less beautiful than the glittering host above, dancing in rainbow hues, and flinging 
on the breeze a fragrance richer than the spices of Ceylon's Isles ; sweet harbinger of boun- 
tiful harvest ! the luscioKs fruits, God's best gift to man, save woman — the melting pear, 

rough or polished rind, with sweetest honied flavor — the burnished apjile, tempting human 
taste from the mother of our race to her last fair daughter — the royal grape, clustering 
beneath its bower of green, making glad the heart of man — the brilliant cherry, suffused 
with loveliest tints of rose and white or dyed in deepest incarnadine — the velvet peach, 
mantled ^\ith beauty's softest blush and vicing with the oriency of the morning — the deli- 
cious plum, veiled with silvery Itloom, over robes of azure, purple, or cloth of vegetable gold ! 
But what imagination can conceive, what pencil sketch, the changing hues, the varied mag- 
nificence and glory, when Pomona pours from her overflowing lap, the ripened treasures of 
the year ! These, all these, are original designs, such as the genius of a Corregio, a Claude 
Lorraine, and the oldest masters could only imitate. 

" Here, are creations, originally pronounced very good. Here, arc inexhaustible sources 
of pleasure, beauties which fade only to appear again. Here, ' life flows pure, the heart 
more calmly beats.' Here, like the foliage and fruit fiilling from trees of favorite care, the 
true pomologist, after a well spent day, lies down to rest in the hope of a fairer to-morrow — 
in the glorious hope of partaking of the fruit of that tree, which ' yieldeth its fruit every 
month, and whose leaves are for the heaUng of the nations.' " 

In Boston, 1862. 

" The more, therefore, we instil into the minds of our youth the love of our delightful 
art, the more will they appreciate the wisdom, beauty, and perfection of the external world, 
and the more will their souls become invested with that purity and refinement which en- 
large the sphere of social happiness, and elevate the mind to contemplate with reverence 
and delight that Infinite Source, 

' Which sends Nature forth the daughter of the sliies, 
To dwell on earth and charm all human eyes.' 

" And when our work on earth is finished, how precious the monuments which this art 
rears to peiiaetuate our memories ! It was the custom of some of the ancients to bury their 
dead under trees, so that future generations might sit over their graves screened from the 
parching heat, and dedicate fniits and flowers to distinguished men. 



MARSHALL PINCKNEY WILDER. 23 

" What Iionorabic testimonial to liavc a lui?cious fniit dedicated to your, memoiy — a fruit 
which shall hear the name not only of yourself, but of your family long after you shall have 
been buried beneath the sods of the valley ! How transporting the thought, that future 
generations will sit under the cooling shade of the tree reared by your own hand, and regale 
themselves with its precious fruit ! How chastening the anticipation, that when wc|shall have 
been gathered to our fathers, and these frail tenements are consigned to the bosom of our 
mother earth, the particles of our bodies shall be regenerated and reappear in the more 
beautiful fomis of fruit or flower, and shall thus minister to the comfort of generations to 
come. Oh ! let me be remembered in some graceful ti-ee, some beautiful flower, some 
luscious fruit. Oh ! yes, f;\r better than storied monument or sculptured urn, let me be re- 
membered as one who labored to adorn and improve the earth, to promote the pleasure and 
welfare of those who are to follow me." 

Though in all his previous addresses he had confined himself to the 
objects and pursuits of the Society, yet on this occasion he could not 
overlook the tmhappy condition of our country, and utters the fol- 
lowing patriotic sentiments : 

" At a crisis so momentous and fearful, involving our existence as an independent and 
united people, and our relation to every other nation under heaven, our paramount duty is 
plain. We must support with all our means that good Government which the patriotism 
and wisdom of our fathers established, and which, after every effort to avert the evil, is 
compelled to robe even her white-winged messenger of peace in the fiery hal)ilaments of war 
for the preservation of the Republic and the enforcement of its laws. We must hold on to 
the Constitution as the very palladium of our liberties, and the sheet anchor of our hope. 

"The cloud, that overshadows us, is indeed dark and foreboding, j-et we trust it will retire 
gilded with the bow of promise, and radiant with a hope of a brighter to-morrow. We believe 
that He who rules in mercy as well as in justice, will in the end bring our beloved nation 
out of all its troubles, and make us a M'iser and a better people. Terrible as this crisis is, 
we doubt not that the progress of this great Republic is to be onward and upward in the 
cause of freedom, civilization and humanity, and in all that tends to the development of the 
comfort, happiness and perfection of the human race. Yes, we fondly cling to the hope 
that the day is coming yet, when war shall wash his bloody hand and sheathe his glittering 
sword — when our fields shall no longer be ploughed M'ith the deadly cannon, or fertilized 
with the blood of our brethren — and when peace shall again wreathe her olive leaves around 
these distracted States, and bind them together in hanuony and fraternal love. The 
night is dark, but the morning cometh. That golden age is ' coming yet.' 

' Its coming yet for a' that, 
When man to man the warld o'er, 
Shall brothers be for a' that.' " 

Mr. Wilder has just ordered the next meeting of this Society to be 
held at St. Louis, Mo., Sept. 11, 1867. 

But we must now call the attention of the reader to his labors for 
the promotion of Agriculture. Soon after he had closed his adminis- 
tration as President of the Horticultural Society, he was solicited 
to join in a call for the establishment of an Agricultural Society in his 
own county. In pursuance thereof, a Convention was held at 
Dedham, Feb. 1, 1849. The Hon. Charles Francis Adams, now our 



24 MARSHALL PINCKNEY WILDER. 

Minister to ikigland, presided as chairman. The Norfolk Agricultural 
Society was organized ; a constitution was reported by a committee, 
of which Mr. Wilder was chairman, and being accepted, he was chosen 
President and Mr. Adams Vice President. The sum of $3000 was 
subscribed for a fund, and the Society incorporated March 21, 1849. 

The first Annual Cattle Show of this Society was held at Dedham, 
Sept. 2G, 1849, a fair day and one long to be remembered. There 
were said to have been present ten thousand persons on that occasion. 
An Address was delivered by the President, in which the history of 
agriculture, its importance, its benefit to the community and means of 
advancement were prominent features. The Society appreciating its 
value, voted that three thousand copies be printed. 

The banquet was remarkable — not merely a festival, but an intel- 
lectual feast. There for the first time ladies at the agricultural 
entertainment graced the table. Many of our first citizens were 
present : Gov. Briggs, Lieut. Gov. Read, Daniel Webster, Ed- 
ward Everett, Robert C. Winthrop, Ex-Gov. Lincoln, Ex-Gov. Hill 
of New Hampshire, Charles Francis Adams, Josiah Quincy both father 
and son. Gen. Dearborn, Horace Mann, with many others of high re- 
spect. The voices too of song were not silent — they were heard in 
the Odes of the Rev. John Pierpont and the Hon. Tristam Burges. 

Mr. Webster spoke eloquently of the influences of associations : 

" We saw it years ago — perhaps I might say centuries ago. It began in the corporation 
of cities of the old world. It began in professional associations in the old world, in the 
legal, the medical and the theological. But it was long in that countiy and in this, before 
this principle of combination came to be acted upon in the great system of Agriculture." 

It was here that Mr. Webster made his famous Turnip Sjjeech, in 

which he remarked : 

" It is just as certain as any thing in the world, it would be impossible for the cultiva- 
tion of England to go on without the culture of turnips I see that the turnip 

crop is the very soul and substance of English husbandry, I see that England would fail 
to pay the interest of her national debt if turnips were excluded from her culture." 
[Laughter and applause.] 

Mr. Everett portrayed the happiness of the life of a farmer : 

" I believe it to be the occupation most favorable to health, to tranquillity of mind, to 
simple manners, to frugal habits, to equality of condition. And what more do you want to 
make up an occupation most fovorable to happiness ? Certainly, there is no other pursuit, 
which to the same degree lies at the basis of the entire social system. I am not speaking 
without warrant, Mr. President, for you have told us the same thing in better language. 
Such is the consenting judgment of the world." 



MARSHALL PINCKNEY WILDER. 25 

But the reader must be referred to the first volume of the Transac- 
tions of the Norfolk Agricultural Society for a further history. Yet 
there was one sentiment too rich to pass over and too true to be for- 
gotten. It was offered by the Hon. Josiah Quincy, Jr. : 

" The Future Meetings of the Norfolk Agricultural Society. They may have better cattle 
— they may have a more extended show ; but when will the breed of men — the native stock 
or the imported Ijrced — e(iual that of their fu'st meeting ? " 

Alas ! nearly eighteen years have passed since this splendid festival, 
and how many of these bright stars have sunk below the horizon I 
At a subsequent exhibition the President alluded to some of those 
who had departed. Of Gen. Dearborn he remarked : 

" It affords me great pleasure to bear public testimony to the briUiant talents and great 
worth of our lamented Dearborn — a testimony which is the resnlt of more than twenty 
years intimate acquaintance with him, in our favorite pursuits, and in official duty. His 
labors in the establishment of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, the Mount Auburn 
and the Forest Hills Cemeteries, are proud and durable memorials of his skill, energy and 
taste. No enterprise was too bold for him to attempt ; no sacrifice was too great for him to 
make ; no labors too arduous for him to perform, in order to promote the intelUgence, the 
refinement, virtue, welfare and renown of his countrymen." 

The Norfolk Society was the first in the State to purchase grounds, 
build a Hall and take fees for admission. By the following extract 
from the address at the exhibition in 1854, the reader will see how 
the Society had prospered and what vigorous efforts they were 
making : 

" Within the short period of five years, the Society has acquired fun ds to purchase the 
grounds on which its shows have heretofore been held ; has paid for the structures and 
other accommodations for the stock on exhibition ; and the present year has erected an 
agricultural hall, a building 130 feet in length, 55 in width and 28 in height. This edifice 
is pronounced by competent judges firm and duralile ; it is of good architectural proportions 
and external finish, and contains on the lower floor an exhibition room and offices, and on the 
upper floor a spacious dining and audience hall, sufficient to accommodate at its tables one 
thousand persons." 

In the year 1859 the Society purchased seven more acres of land, 
and thereby incurred a debt which, with subsequent improvements, 
amounted to about eight thousand five hundred dollars. To cancel 
it, efforts were made before the rebellion ; but in consequence of 
Mr. Wilder's sickness they were suspended. He assured the Soci- 
ety that the debt would and should be paid, if his life was spared. 
Within a year past this has been accomplished, principally by liberal 
subscribers. 

6 



26 MARSHALL PINCKNEY WILDER. 

From the org-anization of the Norfolk Society to this, now its 
eighteenth year, they have held their annual exhibitions. They have 
been successful and of increasing benefit to the community. Every 
year has had its Address, and every festival been enlivened by kindred 
spirits. Mr. Wilder has been annually re-elected as Pi-esident, and 
still holds that oflSce. A just appreciation of his services may be best 
understood by the following remarks from Gov. Bullock when he 
concluded his speech at the last annual celebration in Dedham, in 
1866 ; 

" I meet bere to-day, the members of this useful and prosperous Society of Norfofk, 
sitting and rejoicing under the presidency of one who has appUed the results of well-earned 
commercial fortune to the development of the capacities of tlie earth, so largely and so 
liberally, that in every household and at every fireside in America, where the golden fruit 
of summer and autumn gladdens the sideboard or the hearth-stone, his name, his generosity, 
and liis labors, ai-e known and acknowledged." 

In the year 1851, under a resolution of the Norfolk Agricultural 
Society, he proposed a Convention of the Agricultural Societies of the 
State.* This met at the State House ; and on their assembling he was 

* Efforts had been made to obtain a Department of Agriculture as a branch of the 
government, and these having failed, Mr. W. explains the cause of failure, as will be seen 
in the following letter to Hon. Levi Lincoln : 

Boston, May 15, 1851. 
Hon. Levi Lincoln : 

My Dear Sir, — I wTite to state what you have already learned liy the papers, that 
the bill for the estal)lisliment of a State lioard of Agriculture h is been rejected in the House. 
The bill came up early last Monday nioniing, when two hunilred inemliers were absent, and 
unfortunately those upon whom we relied to advocate its claims. Two or three foolish 
speeches, tilled (as I learn) with the old tirade against " book farming " and " scientitic 
agriculture" were made, which gave the cast, there being no one to defend the bill, and 
all being desirous of clearing the Speaker's table before entering the Hoosac Tunnel. 
I have been absent from home a good deal of late, and therefore could not lobby with 
the nienilx'rs, a thing which by the bye I despise. I was assured, however, by those who 
promised to look alter tin' matter, that it would be agreeable to all ))avties, and would pass 
without objection. In this we have been sadly outwitted and disai)pointed. That tlie j)rin- 
ciples of the bill are generally satisfactory to all those who believe in the advancement of 
art by aid of science, there can bo no doubt ; and although you with othei-s have zealously 
labored, midst discouragements and disappointments for a quarter of a century, to place 
this heaven-appointed i)rofession on a par with the other arts and pursuits of life, I cannot 
doubt but your wishes are about to be realized. The indications from various parts of our 
country sanction this l)elief. The i)resent condition of the agriculture of our country, and 
particularly of New l-^iiglaiid, call for the elloits of philanthropists to come forward in its 
aid. The results achieved by the application of science in Europe are truly astonishing iu 
this branch of human industry. The crops of wheat which were but a few years since (in 
England and Scotland) only fifteen bushels per acre, have been raised in many instances to 

thirty-eight bushels, and a similar advance has taken place in other crops 

But I am not discouraged, nor disheartened. We have with us troops of ardent and devot- 
ed friends to the cause, and the day is not distant when our desires will in a measure be 
accomplished. Fortunately we have the " Central Board of Agriculture," about to be 
organized, and I trust the association will be of essential benefit to our various Societies, 
and the means of great good to all concerned. I have received certificates of the election 
of delegates from ten of the Societies, and now only await the return from your Society 
and one other, before we issue notice of the first meeting. May we hear from you on this 
point as early as your convenience will permit. 



MARSHALL PINCKNEY WILDER. 27 

chosen Chairman. They then resolved themselves into a Central 
State Board of ^Agriculture, and elected him President. 

It was voted, at the third session of this Agricultural Board, to 
memorialize the Legislature again in regard to an Agricultural De- 
partment of State, and Mr. Wilder, the Hon. Edward Everett, Prof. 
Wm. G. Fowler and others were appointed to draw and present the 
memorial. It was successful, and a State Board of Agriculture was 
established. Like that of the Board of Education, it has contributed 
much to the welfare and advancement of the community. He was ap- 
pointed by the Governor, has been a member of this Board eleven 
years, and is now elected for three years more by the Norfolk Agricul- 
tural Society. 

Nor should his influence and numerous addresses in behalf of 
an Agricultural College be forgotten. It was while he was Presi- 
dent of the Senate of Massachusetts, that he submitted a Bill 
to this effect, which passed the Senate without a dissenting voice, 
but was lost in the House of Representatives. In consequence of 
this failure, he procured the passage of a resolve for the appointment 
of a board of five commissioners, of which he was Chairman, to exa- 
mine the subject of Agricultural Schools and report to the next 
Legislature. The Rev. Edward Hitchcock, President of Amherst Col- 
lege, was one of this commission, and being then in Europe, Mr. 
Wilder guaranteed his expenses in investigating the schools abroad, 
which were finally paid by the State. Pres. Hitchcock furnished 
materials for a Report to the next Legislature, with the statistics of 352 
schools in Europe. This report and these efforts were the first seeds 
of the Agricultural College, which is now located at Amherst, and of 
which Mr. W. is the first named trustee. 

Having been appointed by Gov. Briggs a Commissioner at the 
Exhibition of all Nations in the Crystal Palace at New York, he attend- 
ed on that occasion. A similar compliment was paid him in 1850, 
when he was appointed as Chairman of the Commission in behalf of 
Massachusetts for the World's Fair in London, but his engagements 
were such that he could not leave home. 

In 1852, he prepared a circular, under the auspices of the Mas- 
sachusetts Board of Agriculture, of which he was President, for a 
National Convention of Agriculturists. It was signed by himself 



28 MARSHALL PINCKNEY WILDER. 

and ten other Presidents of different State Societies ; and a meeting 

•was called at Washington, June 24, 1852. One hundred and fifty 

delegates representing twenty-three States responded in person to the 

call. They met in the rooms of the Smithsonian Institution, and the 

United States Agricultural Society having been organized, Col. Wilder 

was chosen President. Among other matters in his Address on that 

occasion, he said : 

" Gentlemen, we are here to advance an art coeval with the existence of the human 
race — an art which employs eighteen millions of our population, and four-fil'ths of all the 
capital in our fair land — an art which lies at the very foundation of national and individual 
prosperity and wealth, the basis of commerce, of manufactures and of industrial pursuits. 
We are an agricultural people ; our hahits, our dispositions are rural. I rejoice that it is 
so, and I pray that it may ever continue to be so. Our country embraces every variety of 
soil, and is capable of producing most of the products of the torrid and the temperate 
zones ; and with a suitable application of science to this art, there is no reason why Ameri- 
can agriculture may not sustain competition with that of any nation on the civilized globe." 

On the conclusion of business, a large number of the delegates in 
procession called on President Fillmore, and on Mr. Webster, received 
their congratulations, and invited their influence and co-operation. 

The next annual meeting of the United States Agricultural Society 
was at Washington, Feb. 21, 1853. They met in sorrow. The illus- 
trious friend of Agriculture was no more, and in his Address at that 
meeting. President Wilder paid a noble tribute to the memory of his 
departed friend : 

" ' The Marshfield Fanner ' is also numbered with the mighty dead. He was a farmer, 
the son of a farmer, and the noblest production of American soil ! His majestic form, his 
mountain brow, and expressive countenance, his deep, yet melodious voice, his whole 
person eloquent in every step and act, are bright visions on which we delight to dwell. 

" We fondly cherish the remembrance of him as he appeared in this assembly at the 
organization of our Society, and in the cordial manner in which he saluted the worthy 
representative of the immortal Washington, the ' Farmer of Arlington.' We love to think 
of his subsequent reception of us at his hospitable mansion in the city, and of the close 
of his eloquent address, and especially of his friendly benediction — ' Brother farmers, I 
shall remember you, and the occasion which has called us together. I invoke for you a 
safe return to your homes. I invoke for you an abundant harvest ; and if we meet not 
again in time, I trust that hereafter we shall meet in a more genial clime, and under a 
kindlier sun.' 

" Yes, sainted patriot, there in those celestial fields, where the sickle of the gi"eat Reaper 
shall no more cut down the wise and the good, we hope at last to meet thee — there, where 
thy brilliant star shall shine with purer effulgence, and where the high and glorious aspi- 
rations of thy soul shall be forever realized ! " 

The First Exhibition under the superintendence of this Society was 

a National Horse Show at Springfield, Mass., Oct. 19 — 21, 1853. Great 

preparations were made by the liberal citizens of that place who had 

solicited its co-operation. The meeting was on grounds of twenty 



MARSHALL PINCKNEY WILDER. 29 

acres ; a track for the course, and a gallery for spectators with rising 
tiers of seats, were provided, A large crowd of spectators assem- 
bled. Five hundred fine horses advanced into the arena, some richly 
caparisoned, and the procession of gallant steeds and riders passed 
like a pageant before the eyes of the multitude. Several thousands 
of dollars were distributed in premiums. Speeches were made at 
the banquet by Abbot Lawrence, our late minister to the Court of 
St. James, Gov, Seymour of New York, Gov, Colby of New Ilamp- 
shii'e, John Minor Botts of Virginia, Kev, F, D, Huntington of Bos- 
ton, and others. Nor was the equestrian exhibition without an Ad- 
dress from the President. Mr. Lawrence, in speaking of the exceed- 
ing value of the horse, made this remark : 

" We talk in these modem times of the steam engine and the telcgi-aph as the great 
civilizers of man. But the horse has been a gi'eater civilizer than either tlic steam engine 
or the electric telegraph." 

The Society held a National Cattle Show at Springfield, Ohio, Oct. 
25 — 27, 1854. It was remarkable for the superiority of the cattle. 

A premium of $500 having been offered for the best herd consisting of 
a bull and five cows, the excellence of the herds on the list was so 
great that the judges, after some days deliberation, were unable to 
copae to a decision and withheld it. An offer was made to divide 
equally between the proprietors of the two best herds, but one of them 
(Brutus J. Clay) declined, saying emphatically, " I came here for the 
honor, and not for money." 

At the banquet, which was honored by the presence of ladies, 
there were among the guests. Gov. Wright of Indiana, now minister 
to Prussia, Cassius M, Clay, now minister to Russia, and his brother 
Brutus J. Clay ; Col. L. F, Allen, of New York ; Hon. Chauncey, 
Holcomb, of Delaware ; Colonels Saunders and Williams, of Ken- 
tucky, and other gentlemen of rank, with delegates from many States 
and from Canada; and by the side of the President sat the venerable 
Madam Warder, of Springfield, Ohio — a noble lady of the Old School. 

This exhibition is described in the President's Address : 

*' This is the first National Exhibition of Cattle ever held in America, and I do but express 
the common sentiment of the assemblage, when I say that it has more than realized the 
anticipations of all concerned. It has been eminently successful, and alike honorable to 
tile citizens of Springfield, to the State of Ohio, and to the gi'eat Republic. There have 
been 200 entries at this exhibition ; and it has seldom or never been the happiness of man 



30 MARSHALL PINCKNEY WILDER. 

to behold such samples in one show, and larger premiums have been offered for the 
encouragement 'jof this department of American husbandry, than ever before excited 
competition." 

Gov. Wright, after speaking with admiration of the Cattle Show, 
concluded by ofifering this sentiment : 

" The First United States Agricultural Banquet. A Union this day of the citizens of 
Eighteen States. May these associations continue to increase and multiply, until we 
shall meet at these annual festivals the citizens of each State, District and Territory of 
this Republic, and greet each other not as members of different sections of the country, 
but as citizens, known and recognized by the prouder and higher name of an American 
Citizen." 

The Third Exhibition of the United States Agricultural Society 
was held in Boston, Oct. 23— 27, 1855. Mr. Wilder, being desir- 
ous to have one exhibition near his home, had been seeking for suit- 
able grounds, but could find none until the middle of August, when 
he called on the Mayor and offered to select Boston for this purpose, 
if the city would level and seed down the land just made, easterly of 
Harrison avenue, where the new City Hospital has since been erected. 
They agreed to get it ready, and expended in the pi-eparation $15,000. 
A square of thirty acres or more was enclosed by a high, strong 
fence, and with imposing and handsome entrances. It was furnished 
with seats rising one above another like a gallery on the western side, 
where 10,000 spectators could be accommodated. Pens and stalls 
were arranged on the other sides, and capacious tents were located 
in the middle of the grounds. Gentlemen in Boston pledged $20,000 
to defray the expenses, and the old " Massachusetts Society for the 
Promotion of Agriculture " generously contributed $1000 towards the 
same. The President in his Address thus describes the place : 

" One of the most interesting incidents of this exhibition relates to the spot on which 
it is held. This whole territory is land redeemed from Neptune's dominion. Here modern 
enterprise has literally fulfilled the words of Scripture, and has said to the surrounding 
hills, ' Be ye plucked up and cast into the sea ; ' and they have moved in obedience to its 
command. Here, where but yesterday rolled the ocean's wave ; here, in the middle 
of the nineteenth century, and in the midst of this populous and flourishing city, the 
National Agricultm-al Society has come up with its flocks and herds, pitched its tents, 
and invited you to unite in celebrating the triumphs of art over nature, and to witness the 
achievements of science in a most impoi'tant department of husbandry." 

The show of animals was uncommonly good. This display of the 
wealth of the country lasted five days, during which, under the vigi- 
lance and energy of Gen. John S. Tyler, Chief Marshal, perfect order 



MARSHALL PINCKNEY WILDER. 31 

and good feeling prevailed, as the vast multitude swayed from place 
to place, not an accident having occurred to mar the pleasures of the 
occasion. Over the pavilion waved the flags of England, France and 
other powers, Avhile the stars and stripes hung among them in all their 
glory. 

It was truly a subHmc spectacle — so many fair ladies and men of 
rank and talent from difterent States, had assembled to do honor to 
the honest yeomanry of the land, who there saw the labor of the 
hand respected, and the cultivation of the soil encouraged. Twenty 
States and many State Agricultural Societies were represented by 
delegates. From sixty to seventy thousand visitors passed the gates 
one day, when the receipts were $13,000. Ten thousand dollars were 
assigned for premiums. A corps of reporters from the leading news- 
papers in the country attended this exhibition, and an elegant en- 
graving of it and of the Prize animals may be found in the Journal 
of the United States Agricultural Society for 1855. The total re- 
ceipts were nearly $40,000. 

Among the men of note at the banquet, at which there were 2000 
persons, were Gov. Henry J. Gardner, Mayor J. V. 0. Smith of Massa- 
chusetts ; Gov. Hoppin of Rhode Island, Hon. Morton McMichael of 
Philadelphia, Edward Everett, Robert C. Winthrop, John C. Gray, 
Boston, Ex-Governor King of New York, B, B. French, Washington, 
Col. Thompson, President of the Board of Agriculture of Canada, 
and others. Rev. Dr. S. K. Lothrop asked the blessing. 

After dinner, the President delivered an Address ; and when he 

concluded, the whole assembly rose and gave him three cordial 

cheers. lie then gave a sentiment, to which Gov. Gardner responded 

in a brief and appropriate speech, wherein he remarked : 

" It is true, as you say in the toast you have just uttered, that our fathers were fanners, 
and in connection, sir, it is also true that liberty is the tree which they planted, and which 
has flourished to the present daj'. Go where you will, all history teaches that in agricul- 
tural communities you will find the deepest devotion to the spirit of liberty." [Cheers.] 

The speeches on this occasion from Mr. McMichael, Edward Eve- 
rett, and some others, were remarkable. A few extracts are given. 

Mr. McMichael : 

" Mr. President : As I looked yestcrdaj', on the gratifying exhibition made among the 
triple hills of your beautiful Boston, like his Excellency, the Governor, I too was remind- 



32 MARSHALL PINCKNEY WILDER. 

ed of tliosc ancient days, when, from all the isles of Greece, the people gathered to a perio- 
dical festival, foremost among whose attractions were the achievements of the race-course 

and the ring Mr. President, the Greek, with all his elegance and 

refinement ; with all his philosophy and learning ; with all his exquisite appreciation of 
poetry, and music, and painting, and sculpture, and statuary, had no adequate conception 
of the true value and just position of woman, and admitted her to no participation, unless 

in exceptional cases, in his higher pursuits and gi'aver occupations You, sir, 

have heen guided by a wiser and better influence, and recognizing that social equality of 
the sexes, which reason and revelation alike teach us, you have thrown your gates wide 
open to the maids and the matrons of the community, you have given them due prece- 
dence as well in the spectacles as at the banquet, and in the bright, the thoughtful, the 
eloquent faces, which at this moment turn towards me, 1 perceive the visible tokens of 
the illimitable advance which our Christian has made over heathen civilization." 

Mr. Everett, comparing our Indian corn to California gold : 

" Far different the case with our Atlantic gold ; it does not perish when consumed, but, 
by a nolilcr alchemy than that of Paracelsus, is transmuted in consumption to a higher 
life. 'Perish in consumption,' did the old miser say ? ' Thou fool, that which thou sow- 
est is not quickened except it die.' The burning pen of inspiration, ranging heaven and 
earth for a similitude, to convey to our poor minds some not inadequate idea of the mighty 
doctrine of the resurrection, can find no symbol so expressive ' as bare grain it may chance 
of wheat or some other grain.' To-day a senseless plant, to-morrow it is human bone and 
muscle, vein and artery, sinew and nerve ; beating pulse, heaving lungs, toiling, ah, some- 
times, overtoiling brain. Last June, it sucked from the cold breast of the earth the watery 
nourishment of its distending sap-vessels ; and now it clothes the manl y form with warm, 
cordial flesh ; quivers and thrills with the five-fold of sense ; purveys and ministers to the 
higher mystery of thought. Heaped up in your granaries this week, the next it will strike 
in the stalwart arm, and glow in the blushing cheek, and flash in the beaming eye ; — till 
we learn at last to realize that the slender stalk, which we have seen shaken by the sum- 
mer breeze, bending in the cornfield under the yellow burden of harvest, is indeed the 
* staff of life,' which, since the world began, has supported the toiling and struggling 
myriads of humanity on the mighty pilgi-image of being." .... 

And with regard to this Exhibition, he observes: 

"But when I look around upon your exhibition — the straining course — the crowded, 
bustling ring — the motion, the life, the fire — the immense crowds of ardent youth and 
emulous manhood, assembled from almost every part of the country, actors or spectators 
of the scene — I feel that it is hardly the place for quiet, old-fashioned folks, accustomed 
to quiet, old-fashioned ways. I feel somewhat like the Doge of Genoa, whom the imperi- 
ous mandate of Louis XIV. had compelled to come to Versailles, and who, after survey- 
ing and admiring its marvels, exclaimed, that he wondered at every thing he saw, and 
most of all at finding himself there." 

Mr. Winthrop related an important fact in our agricultural history : 

" The Philadelphia Record of Dec. 5, 1785, sets forth, that a letter was received ' from 
the Hon. William Drayton, Esq., Chairman of the Committee of the South Carolina 
Society of Agriculture, inclosing a few copies of their address and rules, and soliciting a 
coiTCspondence with this Society.' This letter was dated Nov. 2, 1785, and leaves no 
doubt, therefore, that South Carolina had established a State Agricultural Society at least 
seven years before Massachusetts. It is certainly a striking circumstance, that the year Of 
its establishment was the very year in which the fii'st five bales of cotton ever exported from 
America, were entered at Liverpool, and were actually seized at the Custom House, on 
the ground that no such thing as cotton had ever been grown, or could ever be grown in 



MARSHALL PINCKNEY WILDER. 33 

America ! Indigo was then a staple export of Carolina, of which hardly a plant is now 
found upon her soil, and of which not a pound is exported. Truly, Sir, there have been 
revolutions in the vegetable kingdom, within a century past, hardly less wonderful than 
those of the civil and political world." 

E.K-Governor John A. King, of New York, in the course of his re- 
marks paid this compliment to the President : 

" I have also the honor to belong to the same Society to which our distinguished Presi- 
dent belongs — the United States Agricultural Society. I have served Avith him also in 
that capacity ; and I am here to say in your presence, and to his honor, that I know no 
titter, no abler, more efficient officer for that distinguished post. At home and 
abroad, the same man, the same power, the same vigor, and the same intellect, are all 
brought to bear on the great cause which we are here assembled to celebrate. 

" I came to assist in this great celebration ; and well have I been repaid for it. I have 
witnessed a scene upon this made land, such as no man in this country has ever before 
witnessed. I have seen, not only the most beautiful specimens of animals of all charac- 
ters, but I have seen the noblest assemblage of the noblest animal — man. I have seen one 
hundred thousand persons, well dressed, intelligent, and capable of every thing that man 
can be called upon to do — here assembled to witness that which the Society, under his 
administration, has been able to produce before you ; orderly, quiet, and requiring no police, 
no bayonets, but showing the influence and power of education, here, in its greatest 
stronghold. New England." 

The Fourth Annual Exhibition was held at Philadelphia, Oct. 7 — 11, 
1856. The grounds were on the banks of the Schuylkill — an area of 
forty acres — with twenty entrances, at each of which the daily visitors 
were recorded by a register. There were 750 stalls for cattle, 300 for 
horses, and 150 for swine and sheep. A track for horses half a mile long 
and forty feet wide, was laid at the expense of $1200 ; besides a car- 
riage road a mile in circumference. There were ornamental gateways 
at each end of the enclosure, and architectural structures flanked with 
towers ; and at the north a bridge sixty feet long and twenty-five 
broad spanned a deep ravine. Inside on the green sward stood an 
immense marquee, numerous tents and structures. Fronting the 
whole, was a balcony with rising tiers of seats a thousand feet in 
length, suflScient for six thousand ladies and gentlemen ; while 
in the centre of the area on a tall flag-staff waved a banner, with 
the inscription, United States Agricultural Society. Westward 
of this, an elegant iron fountain refreshed the air with its lofty 
snow-white showers ; and to add one more charm to the romantic 
scene, the grand iron track, which unites Philadelphia to the far 
West, lay in the back ground of the picture, winding its way through 
the woods, while ever and anon the locomotive seemed to respond 
to the occasion. 

6 



34 MARSHALL PINCKNEY WILDER. 

The Municipal Authorities, Board of Trade, and Society of Philadel- 
phia for Promoting Agriculture, did themselves honor in these magni- 
ficent arrangements. Such was the concourse of visitors that $38,000 
were received for entrances, and $14,000 distributed in premiums. 

The banquet was graced with the beauty and fashion of Philadel- 
phia and the country. There were twenty-eight tables, at which were 
seated more than two thousand ladies and gentlemen. Bishop Potter, 
of Pennsylvania, invoked a blessing, and Bishop McCrosky, of Illinois, 
returned thanks. Then the President addressed the assembly. The 
following extract will illustrate the occasion : 

" The lively iiiterest manifested in this exhibition, and the great concourse of persons 
attending it, afford ample evidence of the high esteem in which agriculture and rural arts 
are held. It will have been witnessed, should the pleasant weather continue, by more 
than two hundred thousand people, and it has been pronounced, by competent judges, the 
most interesting ever held on this side the Atlantic. The number of entries has been 
very large. In stock, it has embraced some of the finest specimens of the different breeds, 
which this or any other country can afford. The latter, with the display of implements 
and productions of the soil and the arts, reflects gi-eat honor upon the contributors, the 
Society and the country." 

Among the guests were Mayor Vaux of Philadelphia, Gov. Pollock 
of Pennsylvania, the Clergy of the Diocese then in session in the city, 
Gov. Price of New Jersey, George Washington P. Custis, " the 
Farmer of Arlington," the Hon. Josiah Quincy, Jr. of Massachusetts, 
Hon. A. B. Conger of New York, Judge Robeson of New Jersey, 
Hon. William Meredith of Philadelphia, with numerous delegates 
from the State Societies. The first speaker was Gov. Pollock. 
A few extracts only will be given, as the Journal of the United States 
Agricultural Society, Vol. 3, 1856-Y, contains a full history of these 
celebrations. 

Gov. Pollock made remarks worthy of being preserved in letters 

of gold : 

" The farmer is, in and of himself, independent. He is God's nobleman. Labor! let it 
be dignified ! let it be honored ! Labor is honest in all its associations. Labor is honora- 
ble — dignified. Fear not to touch its hard hand or its brawny arm. [Applause.] I would, 
if I had time, direct your attention more particularly to this fact. We must educate labor. 
We must educate our sons to make mechanics ; we must convert our colleges into the work- 
shops—into the harvest fields. We must make them understand that they are men. Pro- 
fessions are crowded— pressed to the earth. We want a race of God's noblemen. Educate 
labor ! Educate, honor, dignify it, and in its turn it will educate and dignify the men 
who employ it." 

He was followed by Hon. A. B. Conger, Ex-President of the New 
York Agricultural Society, who speaking of the occasion says — 



MARSHALL PINCKNEY WILDER. 35 

" I cannot withhold the expression of wonder which I have experienced in witnessing 
this exhibition. I doubt whetlicr there are many Americans at heart, who could withhold 
an expression of honest pride, as in surveying the countless productions gathered together 
in tliis immense arena, they have witnessed the trophies of American skill applied to 
American Agriculture. Go with me, and your pulse will be quickened as you cast your 
eye upon that machine, which a few years ago startled the old world and made them ac- 
knowledge that American ingenuity had produced the most successful reaper known." 

Extract from Mr. Custis's speech : 

" And now let me say a single word before I conclude. In all my public addresses, 
amid all varieties of those to whom I have spoken publicly for two generations, I have 
always called up the stoiy of those revolutionary times. The sun shines sweetly 
on you now, my countrymen, but remember that there was a bitter storm in Valley 
Forge. You glory in your liberties ; you run riot in prosperity — remember the daj-s 
of '76. Bear in mind the services and sufferings of those who made you what you 
are ; drop a tear to their memory and transmit their fame to the remotest generation. 
And you Pennsylvania — you who have the temple of Independence here in your bosom 
on the one side, and Valley Forge on the other — Go to those decayed and memorable 
instances which are left of that ancient encampment — go and mark there prcetium libertatis 
— the price of liberty. See what it cost, and remember with undying gratitude the names 
of those who won for you so much honor in those trying times. I must now bid you a 
kind adieu, and when I say farewell, it is a valedictory : I shall sec you no more." 

A letter, dated Oct. 6, 1856, to the President from Hon. Kobert 
C. Winthrop, was read, in which he regretted that he could not be 
present, and observes : 

" In addition to the lively interest which I should have taken in the occasion personally, 
I had relied on fulfilling the trust imposed upon me by my colleagues, of representing the 
old ' Massachusetts Society for the Promotion of Agriculture,' and of offering in their 
behalf, to the United States Society, a renewed assurance of co-operation and sympathy 
in the great objects for which both are associated." 

The following toast, enclosed in his letter, was then read : 

" The Farmers of Pennsylvania and of the United States. May they adopt and steadily 
pursue such a policy in regard both to Agi'iculture and every other American interest, as 
will prevent our beloved country from ever being clothed in loeeds." 

The President then announced a representative of an illustrious 
ancestor of New England, Hon. Josiah Quincy, Jr., and who the past 
season had witnessed the great exhibition at Paris. Mr. Quincy 
thus spoke : 

" Fellow citizens : Perhaps there never was a more unjust accusation made against a 
man, than was made by the gentleman who preceded me, who declared that in Boston, after 
dinner, we always have a specimen of Ciceronian eloquence. I assure you, gentlemen, 
that if Mr. Winthrop, who signed the letter, which has been read by the President, had 
had the honor of addressing you, you might have had a specimen of that eloquence. 

" But really, Mr. President, I wish, in I'ising to address this assembly, to say that I 
possess the gi-eat advantage that one of my ancestors had, who, a hundred and one years 

ago, came from Boston to Philadelphia for the purpose of making a speech 

My ancestor came here and had occasion to address the legislature of Pennsylvania, but 



36 MARSHALL PINCKNEY WILDER. 

being like his successor a very modest man, he called upon a member to assist him, and 
that member happened to be no less than a runaway apprentice from Boston, Benjamin 
Franklin. (Great applause.) What was the worst of it all, this Benjamin Franklin 
tells us in his autobiography that being consulted by Mr. Quincy upon that subject, he 
[Franklin] dictated his speech for him, and not only dictated his speech for him, but he 
put it down in his autobiography, so that all mankind might forever know that he did 
not make the speech that he addressed to the Pennsylvanians one hundred years ago." 

A National Trial of Reapers and Mowers was held by the United 
States Agricultural Society, at Syracuse, N. Y., July, 1857, and conti- 
nued for eight days. The Board of Judges consisted of one from each 
of twenty-four States. Forty-two machines were entered for competi- 
tion. The interest was intense. The reports of the judges, the award 
of premiums, and the illustration of machines, may be found in the 
Transactions of the Society for that year. This Exhibition was wit- 
nessed by the Governors of New York and Kentucky, the New York 
State Agricultural Society in a body, and numerous State representa- 
tives. The trial of labor-saving implements, and the elaborate report 
of the judges, constitute one of the most important and useful acts in 
the history of the Society, as will appear by the remarks of the Pre- 
sident, Mr. Wilder, in his Address on the occasion : 

" The commendatory announcement by the press of this exhibition throughout the land, 
and the gathering of this concourse of our intelligent yeomanry, together with inventors 
and manufacturers from this and other countries, the lightning and the press ready to con- 
vey the I'eport of the progi-ess and result of this experiment to millions of readers anxious- 
ly in waiting for it, bear concurrent testimony to the universal interest, general utility and 
paramount importance of this trial. 

" When we consider the great extent of our fields of grass and grain, the vast agricul- 
tural resources of our rapidly increasing national ftirm, the laljor, capital and intelligence 
reqiisite for the development of these, the diversion of human energy to other depart- 
msnts of industry, the question comes home with augmented force, how are our bountiful 
harvests to be gathered, with a suitable regard to the economy of labor, and to the 
preservation of the crops ? There is but one satisfactory reply — by the improt^ed imple- 
msnts of husbandry — by a substitution of the labor of domestic animals for that of mankind, 
and ere long by the application of ' steam wrought and steam impelled machinery.' " 

The Fifth Annual E.xhibition of the United States Agricultural 

Society was held at Louisville, Kentucky, and commencing Aug. 31, 

1857, it lasted five days. Thirty thousand dollars were guaranteed 

by public-spirited citizens to defray the expenses, twelve thousand 

dollars offered as premiums, and an area of fifty acres three miles out 

of the city tendered by the Western Agricultural and Mechanical 

Association for the occasion. Spacious buildings, saloons, and a 

large marquee, halls, tents and stalls, had been erected ; a course for 

the horses laid out, of half a mile in length ; and an immense amphi- 



MARSHALL PINCKNEY WILDER. 37 

theatre 210 feet in diameter, with rising tiers of seats for spectators, 
modelled after the ancient Coliseum of Rome, roofed and ornamented 
with fluted columns, evinced the warm and patriotic spirit which that 
festival awakened. Twenty-seven States appeared by representatives, 
and forty-eight Agricultural and Horticultural Societies sent their 
delegates ; and reporters of forty-two newspapers were courteously 
cared for by Maj. Ben Perley Poore, the eflScient Secretary of the So- 
ciety. Such were the preparations in Louisville for this magnificent 
celebration. The heavens too were propitious — a succession of autum- 
nal days when the sky appears in her deepest blue and the earth in 
her loveliest colors. 

But we can only take a bird's-eye view, and see a vast concourse 
of spectators, some in groups gazing on every variety of cattle and 
domestic animals — others admiring horses of high pedigree, and espe- 
cially three full-blood Arabians — here a crowd pressing into a machine- 
sliop to observe some labor-saving invention — and there the lovers of 
fruit and flowers eyeing one rare collection after another — and then 
behold a magnificent display of the Durham, Devon and fat cattle, in 
the arena of the amphitheatre, and then a grand cavalcade of splendid 
horses, passing by those rising tiers crowned with the beauty and 
fashion of the West. But the reader must be referred to tlie Journal 
of the United States Agricultural Society, Vol. iii. 

Of the many guests only a few names can be given : Mayor 
Pitcher of Louisville, Gov. Morehead of Kentucky, Ex-Governors 
Wicklifie, Powell and Helm ; John C. Breckinridge, .Vice President 
of the United States ; James Guthrie,'' Secretary of the United States 
Treasury ; Gen. Tilghman of Maryland ; Judge Huntington of the 
Supreme Court, Indiana ; Gen. Wilson, Iowa ; Col. Barrett, Mis- 
souri ; C. L. Flint, Secretary of the Massachusetts Agricultural 
Board ; Frederic Smyth, since Gov. of New Hampshire ; Colonels 
Mallory and Buchanan. Speeches were made by many gentlemen. 

Mr. Wilder : 

" One of the most hopeful and delightful features of these national jubilees relates to 
the genial influences which they exert on all classes of society, associating them together 
Avith friendly greetings, and making them one in interest and one in atfection 

" My heart is no stranger to that interest which has brought this immense concourse 
together — to the inspiration of that sentiment which I trust Mill ever animate the hearts 
of the American people — to those patriotic emotions which merge all sectional jealousies 
and party distinctions in a general desire for the public weal. 



38 MARSHALL PINCKNEY WILDER. 

" We come from different and distant portions of our country. I am from the home of 
the Puritans, but I am most happy to meet you here in this land of cavaliers and chivalry — 
and here upon the broad platform of good citizenship, to unite my influence with yours in 
furtherance of our common cause, and in cementing the bonds of union — to join hands 
with you, Sir, the Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and through you with 
this assembly, in exemplification of the glorious inscription on the seal of your State : 
United we stand. Divided we fall." 

To which Gov, Morehead replied : 

" You have spoken, Mr. President, of the motto engi-aved on our coat of arms, ' United 
we stand, divided we fall.' Let me tell you, sir, that it is still more indelibly engraved on 
the heart of every Kentuckian. We do not allow ourselves to argue upon the subject. 
We never yet realized the possiI)ility of dividing. Devotion to the Union is not the result 
of reason alone, but with us it is a holy sentiment of the heart. I have an abiding con- 
viction that God will preserve us for a nobler end than this. But if he should punish 
us by the infliction of such a calamity, the work should be done in a paroxysm of frenzy 
when reason Avas dethroned and madness niled the hour. May God avert from us the 
desolation and ruin which such an event would scatter over a smiling land. May the 
time never arrive when the motto — ' United we stand, divided we fall,' shall grow dim in 
our hearts." 

" The Grand closing Cavalcade. The boll was sounded for the last 
time — the band struck up the National Anthem — the gates were 
thrown open — and the cavalcade of premium horses entered the arena, 
decked with their ribbons of victory. Matched horses in harness, 
rockaway and bugg}'' horses, stallions, mares and geldings, fillies, 
ponies, trotters, pacers, followed in regular succession, passing around 
and around the arena to the inspiring notes of the band, cheered by 
the waving of ladies' handkerchiefs, and by the continued shouts of the 
gentlemen. There were seventy-eight magnificent premium animals to- 
gether, moving around like the ever-varying hues of the kaleidescope, 
and forming a fitting j^/iaZe to the displays in the amphitheatre. The 
great heart of the assembled multitude beat with pride and satisfac- 
tion, and all seemed to go from the amphitheatre at last with reluc- 
tance, as if unwilling to quit the scene of so much unalloyed satis- 
faction." 

The Sixth Annual Meeting of the United States Agricultural Socie- 
ty was held at Washington, Feb. 13, 1858. Pres. Wilder spoke with 
much feeling and respect of the death of Mr. Custis. 

" The venerable Mr. Custis was well known to us as the ' Farmer of Arlington,' an hon- 
orable title conferred upon him on this platfoi-m by Daniel Webster, at the organization of 
this Society, and one by which his name will descend to posterity. He was present at 
each of its annual meetings, occupj'ing a seat on the right of the chair ; and at the close 
of each, pronouncing, by my request, a farewell address and benediction. By his death 
the last representative member of the immortal Washington has passed away. The fol- 
lowing were his touching and prophetic words at the close of our last meeting : 



MARSHALL PINCKNEY WILDER. 39 

" ' The time has come for mc to say Farewell— and when a man on whose head rests 
the snows of seventy-six winters, l)ids you farewell, the probabilities are that it will be a 
long ftirewell. You will now return to your homes with hearts cheered and hands 
strengthened by this mutual communion, and this brotherhood of farmers from all parts 
of our great country. And you will come up to our National Capital another year, each 
one with fresh cause of encouragement for the rest, each one with more information and 
labors, which he will uitcrchange with his fellows, and thus scatter broadcast over the 
land. And as you come up from all portions of the country — from the classic grounds 
where our fathers died— let your hands laljor for the prosperity of the country they bought 
with their blood. 

" ' And now, Gentlemen of the United States Agi-icultural Society— Farewell ! Go 
back to your homes, and tell your friends what has been done at this meeting for the 
cause of Agriculture, and encourage them as you have been encouraged. Continue your 
devotion to this bulwark of our countr}'-, continue inviolate our great Constitution, obey 
our self-imposed laws, preserve our blessed Union, and our Republic will be immortal ! ' " 

In conclusion he declined a re-election, and remarked : 

" Among the considerations which have prevailed with mc was a desire to reciprocate 
your kindness, and to conform my action to your judgment — that my official service was 
important to the establishment and success of our Society. These objects have now been 
accomplished. The United States Agi-icultnral Society is a recognized national institu- 
tion. Wherever its exhilutions are held we are sure to meet, not only gentlemen of all 
professions, but thousands of our intelligent yeomanry. The Society has now attained a 
standing that will ensure its perpetuity and usefulness, and a name that will descend to 
future generations. My resignation, therefore, which I now for the tliu'd time tender you, 
cannot be prejudicial to its interests." 

Gen. Tencli Tilghman, of Maryland, was chosen in his place, and 
the following Resolutions were then passed : 

" IVhereas, the Hon. Marshall P. Wilder, of Massachusetts, who has for years so emi- 
nently distinguished himself by his exertions in promoting the cause of terraculture, has 
declined a further re-election to the office of President of this Societj% which he has filled 
since its creation, with ability, industry and outlay of his private means : 

" Therefore, Resolved, That his name be placed on the roll of honoraiy members of the 
United States Agricultural Society ; and that the Executive Committee are instructed to 
present him a suitable testimonial as a mark of the approliation of this Society, for the 
energy, time and money which he has expended in advancing its mterests, and raising it 
to the position which it now occupies." 

Mr. Wilder replied — • 

" Long may it live and be a blessing to our country, and may its last days be its best days. 
For six successive terms you have honored me with your confidence as President of this 
Association — an office which I esteem as one of the highest and most honorable that could 
be conferred on me. For each of the last two years I have tendered you my resignation, 
but have yielded to your urgent solicitation, and have discharged the duties of the posi- 
tion at gi"eat personal sacrifice and to the best of my ability." 

A vote was passed, appropriating $250 as a testimonial, with 
which an elegant Tea Service was obtained. 

In his Valedictory he remarks : 

" Endowed from my youth with a love for rural life and rural taste, I have but obeyed 
the instincts of my nature in devoting such time, ability and means as I could command 
to the cultivation of the earth. In the incipient measures towards the formation of this 
Society, in all efforts for its encouragement, and in whatever I have been able to do for 



40 MAESHALL PINCKNEY WILDER. 

the promotion of the general cause, I have only been following the leadings of Providence 
and the promptings of my own conscience." 

At the next Annual Meeting, the " Large Gold Medal of Honor, ''^ 
valued at $150, was awarded, with this inscription : " Awarded to Hon. 
Marshall P. Wilder, Founder, First President and Constant Patron." 

Thus closed Mr. Wilder's administration, wherein he had presided 
and delivered addresses at all of the annual meetings in Washington, 
and exhibitions in the various States. 

A Festival of the Sons of New Hampshire resident in Boston, was 
held on the Tth of November, 1849. It was an imposing spectacle, 
and deserves a description far beyond these limits. They met at the 
State House. A large procession was formed, and moved through 
several streets, each county with its banner. Nearly fifteen hundred 
persons sat down at thirty tables in the spacious Railroad Hall over 
the Fitchburg Depot, which was adorned with pictures, sketches and 
emblematic mottoes. It was an occasion calculated to call up sweet 
memories of the past, and fill the mind with pictures of lakes and 
mountains, highlands and valleys, where the fresh and joyous days of 
boyhood were pased ; and perhaps, there was not one whose soul 
did not thrill at the thought of "the school-house — the school-house 
everywhere in New Hampshire," which Mr. Webster so beautifully 
described. Here he sat as President, with the Vice Presidents, of 
whom Mr, Wilder was first. On his right and left were statesmen, 
clergymen, and men of high rank. And it was here that Mr. Web- 
ster made one of his brilliant speeches, touching the historic cha- 
racter of New Hampshire in the Indian wars and in the Revolution, 
and where the great men of the Granite State stood out in bold 
relief as the patriots of other days. He was followed by Judge 
Woodbury, then of the Supreme Court of the United States, Mr. 
Wilder, Mayor Bigelow, Judge Joel Parker, Gen.H. A. S. Dearborn, 
Ex-Governor Henry Hubbard, John P. Hale, Charles B. Goodrich, 
William Plummer, James Wilson, Levi Chamberlain and others. 
Poems by George Kent, Esq., and Mrs. Sarah J. Hale, with other 
poetic effusions, enlivened the entertainment. 

A full account of the Festival was published in 1850, ornamented 
with portraits of Webster, Woodbury and Wilder ; the last of whom, 
speaking of New Hampshire, observed : 



MARSHALL PINCKNEY WILDER. 41 

*^ She has raised men, great men, and had she performed no other service, this alone 
were sufflcicut to associate her name with Sparta and Athens, in the history of manliind. 
Her Starlt, to whom you have so happily alluded, Mr. President, was a modern Lconidas, 
and among her orators, no one could hesitate to point out a Demosthenes ! " 

The Sons of New Hampshire were again called together on the 
29th of October, 1852. The nation was in mourning— the Festival 
ordered for Nov. 18th, was postponed, Daniel Webster, their Presi- 
dent, was no more ! He died at Marshfield, Oct. 24, 1852 ; and a 
delegation of this association attended his funeral. But a more pub- 
lic and general expression of their sorrow was manifested on the 30th 
day of November — a day set apart in Boston for his obsequies. 

On the morning of that day, a Select Committee, with the Hon. 
John S. Wells, President of the Senate, at their head, having been 
appointed by the Legislature of New Hampshire, arrived at the Low- 
ell Depot, and were received by the Sons of New Hampshire, and 
addressed by Mr. W., President on the occasion, who observed : 

" A mighty one has fallen ! Our elder brother. New Hampshire's favorite son, is no 
more. All that was mortal of Daniel Webster, the great expounder of constitutional 
authority and national rights, has been consigned to the bosom of his mother earth. 

" The loss to us, to the country and to the world, is irreparable. The whole nation 
mourns ; our city is hung in the drapery of woe, and ' the mourners go about the streets.' 

" But in this hour of trial and sorrow, let us not forget that our loss is his unspeakable 
gain. While we mourn, let us thank God that he was spared to us so long — that he was 
enabled to do so much for us, and for the cause of universal freedom and humanity, and 
that his sun was permitted to go down unclouded, and shining in the greatness of its 
strength. 

" Gentlemen, it is not my province to pronounce his eulogy ; that duty will be performed 
by abler men and more gifted lips. Daniel Webster is dead ! We shall see that majestic 
form no more ! But his fame is immortal. It is registered on the hearts of his grateful 
countrymen. Yes, and it shall be transmitted unsullied and untarnished through all com- 
ing ages ; and when the monumental marble shall have crumbled into dust, it shall ' still 
live ! ' It shall live forever." 

They proceeded then to the State House, and in the Representa- 
tives' Hall the Select Committee were introduced by Mr. Wilder to 
Gov. Boutwell, where speeches of condolence were exchanged. They 
then joined the great procession under a military escort to Faneuil Hall, 
which was draped in the emblems of sorrow. There an eloquent and 
heart-stii'ring Eulogy was delivered by the Hon. George S. Hillard. 
Boston, since she has been a city, never saw a more solemn day — 
stores closed — numerous public and private residences festooned in 
black — flags at half-mast — muffled drums — the long procession — 
the noiseless, respectful mass of people, who lined the streets — all 



42 MARSHALL PINCKNEY WILDER. 

seemed to speak a deep feeling of sorrow at the obsequies of a great 
man. 

The Second Festival of the Sons of New Hampshire was held at 
the Railroad Hall of the Fitchburg Depot, Nov. 2, 1853. The prepa- 
rations were similar to the first. Thirteen hundred partook of the 
banquet, and Mr. Wilder presided. In his address he reminded the 
assembly that Samuel Appleton, Joseph Bell, Henry A. S. Dearborn, 
John McNiel and John C. Merrill, names on the roll of the Vice Presi- 
dents, were gone. He then touches the deepest cords of sorrow in 
remembrance of the First Festival. 

" "We have to mourn the loss of two distinguished sons then present, who will never be 
forgotten : Levi Woodbury, who entered early into public life, and whose eminent ser- 
vices both in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, and in the counsels and judiciary of the 
nation, have won for him imperishable fame ; and last, not least, Daniel Webster, 
whose official relation to this body demands a grateful tiibute to his memory. His sur- 
passing eloquence on that memorable night will ever remain among the choicest treasures 
of our memories. Who of xis can ever forget the manner in which he stood up on this 
spot, the great champion of universal freedom and national rights, and before the civilized 
world, exhorted the Russian Autocrat to respect the law of nations ; and warning him, if 
he did not, in the following emphatic and terrible language :— ' There is something on earth 
greater than arbitrary or despotic power. The lightning has its power, and the whirlwind 
has its power, and the earthquake has its power ; but there is something among men more 
capable of shaldng despotic thrones than lightning, whhlwind or earthquake— that is the 
excited and aroused indignation of the whole civilized world.' 

" The voice that pronounced this anathema is silent ; but the sentiments which it then 

uttered are now shaking to their very foundations the thrones of Europe. "Who of us 

can forget his majestic form and mountain brow, as he then stood before us the very 

impersonation of greatness and power — 

' Like some tall cliff that lifts its awful form, 
Swells from the vale and midway leaves the storm.' 

And in view of the closing hour of his life, fringed with the rosy tints of a fairer to-mor- 
row ; in view of his serenity of mind, his Christian resignation, and his hope of a glorious 
immortality, may we not, with little modification, add the other lines of this beautiful 

stanza — 

' Though round his breast the rolling clouds were spread, 
Eternal sunshine settles on his head.' 

" Aye, brothers, in that serene upper sky, to which we trust they have ascended, where 
we hope to meet them at last, and beneath the rainbow about the throne, to celebrate a 
more enduring and glorious festival." 

" "What a tide of hallowed associations cluster around the homes of our childhood — 

the hand which rocked our cradle — the parents who nurtured us — the rocks and hills — 

the brooks and vales — ^the district school-house — the village church — the family mansion, 

and — 

' The old elm, that hath been our joy 
From the very childhood up.' 

" The emotions which these remembrances awaken, flow from the purest fountains of 
the soul. Cease to remember the land of our birth ! Not while the granite of the hea- 
ven-piercing hills shall endure— not while gratitude shall be the grateful language of the 

heart. 

' Land of our fathers, whereso'er we roam, 
Iiand of our birth, to us thou still art home.' " 



MARSHALL PINCKNEY WILDER. 43 

The next mcetiug of the Soas of New Hampshire was called to 
receive the Second Regiment of New Hampshire Volunteers, who 
arrived June 20, 1861, on their route to the army. They were 1200 
strong, commanded by Col. Gilbert Marston. The Boston Cadets 
escorted them in their march through several streets to Music 
Hall, where sixteen hundred persons partook of a handsome colla- 
tion. Mr. W,, who presided, in conclusion remarked : 

" Mr. Commander and Fellow Soldiers : You go forth to support the Constitution which 
our immortal Webster labored so zealously to defend. [Cheers.] To preserve that Union 
which he declared should be perpetual ; and here, uniting our voices with yours, we 
solemnly declai-e that, sink or swim, live or die, this glorious Union, purchased by the 
blood of our fathei's, shall not be divided. That in the future as in the past, we will have 
but one country, one govei'nment, one destiny ; and here, too, on the altar of our com- 
mon country, God helping us, we most reverently swear, in the language of our sainted 
brother, that this Union shall be one and inseiiarable, now and forever ! " 

" May the God of battles speed, prosper and protect you on your way ; and whether you 
are permitted to return to your happj'' homes again, or whether you fall in defence of that 
flag, encrimsoned in the blood of patriots and martyrs, your names shall be enshrined 
in our hearts with grateful remembrance, more pi'ccions than king or potentate can boast, 
more durable than sculptured marble or monumental stone." 

The 4th of July, 1855, and the 225th Anniversary of the settlement 
of Dorchester, were celebrated in that town by a union of parties. 
It was a day to be long remembered. The cloudless sky — the grand 
Pavilion on Webster Hill — the long procession and cavalcade — the 
"Everett Barge " with its fairy crew — the fire engines — the brilliant 
escort of the Boston Cadets commanded by Col. Thomas C. Amory — 
the march through various streets — the long ranks of children belong- 
ing to the schools, each sex in tasteful uniform, a beautiful feature in the 
ceremonies — and then the great tent on Meeting House Hill, formed 
a panorama of beautiful pictures amidst the sylvan scenery of time- 
hallowed Dorchester. In the line of march were seen the house 
where Edward Evkrett, orator of the day, was born, decorated with 
an arch supported by pillars on which was inscribed, The Scholar 
AND Statesman, together with the date of his birth, entrance at Col- 
lege, and the numerous oflSces he had sustained ; and in another 
place the house, conspicuous for its banner and motto, where he learnt 
his ABO. The houses on the route were gracefully ornamented, 
especially the mansion of Gov. Gardner, on the top of which waved a 
lofty banner, while on a handsome arch in front stood out Old 
Massachusetts and Union Forever. Over the Pavilion was also an 



44 MARSHALL PINCKNEY WILDER. 

arcli with the inscription, Dorchester was settled in 1630, and on 
the pillars the names of sixteen settlers. 

Among those whom the merry bells of Dorchester had summoned 
on that glorious day, were Gov. Henry J. Gardner, who was born 
there, James Walker, D.D., Pres. of Harvard University, Hon. Charles 
Francis Adams, Hon. Rufus Choate, and Hon. Peter Cooper of New 
York, Rev. Edward Everett Hale, Judges and other personages. 

About two thousand ladies and gentlemen sat down at the banquet, 
in the tent, in which were various mottoes congenial to the occasion ; 
one of which it would be unjust to omit. It was the inscription on 
an arch, decked with evergreens and flowers, in front of his seat : 

MARSHALL p. WILDER, 

President of the Day. 
" Blessed is he that tumeth the waste places into a garden and maketh the wilderness to 
blossom as a rose." 

The following is selected from the President's Address : 

" The soil on which we have assembled is consecrated by the recollection of devoted 
patriotism, and is sanctified by the sacrifices of a noble ancestry. Before us roll the 
waters which bore on their bosom the good ship Mary and John, freighted with the first 
settlers of Dorchester. Here were the homes of John Maverick, John Warham, Richard 
Mather and their godly associates. Here and around us, were the homes of Hancock, of 
Warren, of Prescott, of the Adamses, and other illustrious patriots, who struck some of 
the first and heaviest blows for freedom, and who consecrated themselves at the altar 
of liberty by a baptism of fire and blood. Within our view are Dorchester Heights and 
Bunlier Hill, those everlasting sentinels, which have guarded with sleepless vigilance 
Massachusetts Bay, in times of awful peril ; and there, faithful to then- trust, they will 
stand forever. 

" We also rejoice in the presence of our neighbors from the various towns which have 
arisen from the original Dorchester settlement, for the promptness and cordiality with 
which they have responded to our invitation, especially to the citizens of Boston, a part of 
whose territory was once the * old cow pasture ' of the Dorchester settlers. [Laughter and 
applause.] Ladies and Gentlemen, I intend no reflection upon the Queen city of New Eng. 
land, and she needs no encomium from me. There she stands in her proud pre-eminence, 
like ancient Rome upon her Capitoliue hill. As we gaze at her forest of masts, her crowd- 
ed and busy marts, her princely dwellings and institutions, and consider her wealth, intelli- 
gence and power, we may indulge in a little ancestral pride, for we cannot forget that in 
the Colonial tax of 1633, Dorchester paid £80, or one fifth of the whole tax, while Boston 
paid but £48 ; and that as history informs us, ' Dorchester was the greatest to-s^Ti in New 
England,' but that Boston was too small to contaia many people." 

Mr. Everett's oration gave universal satisfaction. When the orator 
in imagination ascended the Heights of Dorchester, and Washington 
seemed to stand before us on the eve of his first great victory, a thrill 
of applause burst forth. But there is no applause like the pro- 
found attention of an immense audience. For two hours he held the 
charmed mind of the assembly under the sway of his eloquence. 

L.ofC. 



MARSHALL PINCKNEY WILDER. 45 

On the 4th of July, 1861, the patriotic citizens of Dorchester assem- 
bled to raise a new national flag. Mr. Wilder presided on the occa- 
sion, and at the close of his speech remarked : 

" Thus shall we hind these States together in one great circle of life and love — ^make them 
one in inheritance, one in interest, one in destiny — a happy, prosperous and united people, 
whose love of liberty, self government and progress shall he the wonder of the world. 
Hold on to the Union ! and as sure as yonder sun shall set beyond these distant hills, to 
rise another morning, so sure shall the clouds of gloom that now overshadow our beloved 
country be succeeded by a brighter and feircr hereafter. Raise high, then, the flag of our 
Union ! Unfurl it, ye winds of heaven ! and long as the bright canopy above shall con- 
tinue to reflect the wisdom, goodness and power of an Almighty Hand, so long may our 
glorious banner, not one star fallen or blotted from its horizon, continue to be the 
emblem of the peace, prosperity and unity of this great Republic ! " 

Mr. W. had little desire for political life ; his favorite pursuits were 
more congenial to his taste. But, in 1839, he was induced to 
serve as Representative to the State Legislature for the town of Dor- 
chester, for one terra. The next year he was elected a member of 
Gov. Briggs's Council, the year following a Senator, and in tlie organi- 
zation of the Legislature, for that year, he was chosen President of 
the Senate. The remarks at the close of the session offered by Judge 
Pliny Merrick, a member from Worcester county, on proposing the 
customary vote of thanks, proved that his services were well appre- 
ciated, even by his iDolitical opponents. 

" I rise to perform," said he, " one of the last and most grateful duties which devolve 
upon us, before our adjournment announces a final separation. Though composed of dif- 
ferent political parties, we have not often been led, in the course of our deliberations, to 
divide according to our political relations ; however we have differed from each other in 
debate, or in the votes we have given, no acerbity of temper has at any time been mani- 
fested ; but a spkit of conciliation has always prevailed to quench every feeling of ani- 
mosity. To this harmonious action no one has offered larger contributions than have been 
derived from the untiring assiduity and uniform urbanity of our presiding officer. I 
therefore take great pleasure in offering the resolution which I hold in my hand, and 
which I am confident will secure the cordial assent and unanimous approbation of the 
Senate." 

But when the " Constitutional Union Party " was formed in Wash- 
ington, the National Committee, of which the Hon. J. J. Crittenden was 
Chairman, selected Mr. Wilder as the member for New England. It 
devolved on him to call a meeting of the citizens of Massachusetts. 
They chose delegates, of which he was Chairman, to the Baltimore 
Convention, in which John Bell was nominated as candidate for the 
office of President of the United States, and Edward Everett for that 
of Vice President. The result of the election is a matter of history. 
It is well known to all his friends, that on every occasion, and 



46 MARSHALL PINCKNEY WILDER. 

in all his public addresses, he has been a warm supporter of the 
Union. 

Nor should it be forgotten that he is a member of the Masonic 
Fraternity, He was made a Mason in Charity Lodge, No. 18, of 
Troy, N, H. in 1823, when he was 25 years old. He was afterwards 
exalted in the Royal Arch Chapter, Cheshire, No, 4, and since his 
residence in Boston he has become a Knight Templar and member 
of the Boston Encampment; and was, in 1861, Deputy Grand Master 
in the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, and assisted inlaying the corner- 
stone of the new City Hall on December 22, 1862. He also re- 
ceived the Thirty-third and Last Degree of the Ancient, Accepted 
Scottish Right in the Supreme Council of the Northern Jurisdiction 
of the United States, at Boston, in 1863. 

In the great Roll of Brethren who, December 31, 1831, subscribed 
the " Declaration of the Free Masons of Boston and its vicinity," 
which was a faithful exponent of their loyalty to government and alle- 
giance to the laws, as well as their solemn denial of the unjust charges 
of their enemies, I find his name by the side of the Rev. Asa Eaton, 
D.D., Rev, Thaddeus Mason Harris, D,D., Rev. Edward T, Taylor, 
Rev, E. M, P, Wells, D.D., and other eminent clergymen and citizens. 
This famous document, written by Charles W. Moore, Grand Secre- 
tary of G. Lodge of Massachusetts, was signed by six thousand 
faithful, upright, unwavering Masons of New England, 

Mr, Wilder, on the 29th of August, 1833, in his second marriage, 
was united to Miss Abigail Baker, daughter of Capt. David Baker, 
of Franklin, Massachusetts — a lady of education, accomplish- 
ments and piety. She died of a decline, April 4, 1854, leaving 
six children. He was married to her sister, Sept. 8, 1855 — Miss 
Julia Baker — a lady admirably qualified to make his dwelling 
happy and comfort him during a long sickness brought on by over 
exertion and exposure, from which he is now slowly recovering. No 
man has been more blessed in his domestic life ; and would delicacy 
permit the writer to draw aside that sacred veil which shuts out the 
great world from the privacy of home, I know not where there would 
be a more pleasing picture exhibited than in the peace and content- 
ment of this happy family. Moreover, whether at home or abroad, 



MARSHALL PINCKNEY WILDER. 47 

he is never idle ; his mind is at work in some favorite pursuit. De- 
voting his leisure hours to his pen, he has already filled several large 
volumes with descriptions and delineations of fruits proved under his 
own inspection. This has been the work of many years, and it is 
hoped the public may hereafter have the benefit of his investigations. 

His ability as a presiding oflScer needs no comment, as the flourish- 
ing condition of numerous societies under his administration evince 
the high estimation with which his labors were invariably regarded. 
He has often been called to the chair, on various occasions not 
before mentioned. He was President of the Massachusetts School of 
Agriculture, incorporated in 1858, and about to be located at Spring- 
field, which had offered the town farm and buildings with large sub- 
scriptions for this object, when it was superseded by an Act of Con- 
gress granting lands to each State for an Agricultural College. He 
presided over the Board of Agriculture at Washington, for two weeks, 
when it was summoned by the Secretary of the Interior in 1859. Nor 
should it be omitted, that in 1859, he presided at the first public meeting 
called in Boston, in regard to a collocation of the institutions on the 
Back Bay lands, where the splendid edifices of the Boston Society of 
Natural History and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology now 
stand. He was Chairman of the general Committee who petitioned for 
these lands, and of the last Society he is one of the Vice Presidents. 
The progress of the Technological Institute has been wonderful ; for it is 
not only the possessor of a magnificent building, 150 feet by 90, where 
seven years ago a deep tide ebbed and flowed, but has become a Col- 
lege, under William B. Rogers, LL.D., with fifteen professors and one 
hundred and thirty students. Its lands, buildings and funds are 
valued at above $600,000, and it seems destined to sow the seeds of 
knowledge broadcast over the land. He is a member of many Hor- 
ticultural and Agricultural Societies in this and foreign lands ; such 
as the Royal Horticultural Societies of Paris, of Frankfort on the Main, 
and the Pomological Society Van Mens of Belgium, by which he was 
appointed a Commissioner for America ; and he has been a member 
of the Massachusetts Agricultural Club twenty-seven years. He was 
also one of the twelve Representative men, appointed to receive the 
Prince of Wales at the banquet given him in Boston, in 1860. 



48 MARSHALL PINCKNET WILDER. 

The life of Mr. Wilder is a striking instance of what a single indi- 
vidual may accomplish by indomitable perseverance and the concen- 
tration of his intellectual powers upon one grand object — that of 
raising the standard of Terraculture in public opinion. No ordinary 
talent, no turn of mere good fortune, could ever have placed him in 
the high position he has attained as a public benefactor. For we 
must take into view the difficulties and obstacles which in private life 
impede every great and noble enterprise. One alone can do but little. 
He needs help. He must stir up the public mind to favor his plans ; 
he must enlist men of congenial temperament and willing to make 
some sacrifice, to unite with him in the cause. This necessarily leads 
to the formation of societies with rules and regulations ; and every 
society must have a head to plan, to arrange, to direct its operations. 
Nor is this all. The presiding officer should be the soul of the asso- 
ciation, ever remembering that in this age of progress, societies are 
the instruments, but the master-spirit at the head is the great agitator 
of all improvement ; as the Poet affirmed long ago on a more exalted 
occasion : 

" Mens agitat molem et magno se copore miscet." 
Mind moves the mass, and the great body fills. 

He who presides, therefore, should not only be a workman, but pos- 
sess a winning manner, knowledge, talents and eloquence to draw to- 
ward him, on all public occasions, our most distinguished men. He 
must spare no expense, shrink from no labor ; he must confine his 
efforts to no narrow section, but like the eagle from his aerie look 
abroad and embrace the whole country in his glance, until a nation 
feels the importance of his movements, and the wisest and most enlight- 
ened citizens aid him with their influence, and the yeomanry of the 
land, wherever his exhibitions are held, surround him with their pre- 
sence. 

Such was the subject of this memoir, who was President of many 
great and prosperous associations — the Massachusetts Horticultural, 
the American Pomological, the Norfolk County, and the United States 
Agricultural Societies. An appeal to the numerous and splendid 
exhibitions already described will justify the remarks of the writer. 
Yet, should any reader think them too highly colored, the conclusion 
of this memoir must remove all doubt. 



MARSHALL PINCKNEY WILDER. 49 

At a quarterly meeting of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, 
April 1, 1863, a letter was received from Charles 0. Whitmore, Esq., 
a zealous patron of the Society and one of the eminent merchants of 
Boston. On presenting a fine marble Bust of Mr. Wilder, he remarks : 

" For more than thiity years, Col. Wilder has been connected with this Society, and 
has not only given liberally of his money, but has devoted his time and influence to the 
furtherance of its objects. Beginning at a time when the miportance of such a Society 
was not appreciated, and its objects seemed almost visionary, he has seen it gradually 
rising in public estimation, and exerting a constantly increasing influence among the land- 
holders of New England." 

Having then stated that " he deserved the thanks of the Society " 
for having made such wise and prudent arrangements with the Mt. 
Auburn Cemeteiy Corporation, Mr. Whitmore observes : 

" I need hardly add that Col. Wilder's connection with this Society is not his sole claim 
to public distinction. He lias repeatedly been called upon to occupy offices of trust and 
responsibility, and has ably discharged the duties devolved upon hun. As a merchant he 
has given a notable example of integrity and ability, and his personal character needs no 
encomium from us, who have been intimately associated with him. The particular inter- 
est, however, which Col. Wilder has always evinced in the success of this and kindred 
societies, renders this a peculiarly fitting place to present such a memorial." See Ani' 
Gardener's Magazine, Vol. xxix. p. 201-2. 

The following Resolution was then adopted : 

" Resolved, That as members of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, we are highly 
gratified in being able to add to our valuable collection of ornamentations, so fine a mar- 
ble Bust of one who for more than thirty years has been an active member, patron, friend 
and constant benefactor of our Society ; for eight years its President, in which time Hor- 
ticultural Hall was built — to whose conservative, conciliatory and wise influence the 
Society is largely indebted for that amicable settlement with the Mount Auburn Cemetery 
Corporation, from which a large income has already been received, and by which a per- 
petual revenue is to accrue to its funds. Nor would we, as members of this Society, be 
unmindful, that in thus honoring our own fellow citizen, we are paying deserved homage 
to one who has richly earned for himself a national reputation by serving the United 
States Agi'icultural Society six years as its efficient President, and also as President of the 
American Pomological Society for the last twelve years, which office he still fills." 

Mr. Wilder is about to leave for Europe, having been appointed by 
the American Pomological and the U. S. Agricultural Societies Com- 
missioner to represent these institutions at the Paris World's Fair and 
other exhibitions in Europe during the present year. He will take 
with him the cordial wishes of his many friends for the perfect recov- 
ery of his health. 

8 



Since the foregoing was written, an annual meeting of the Norfolk Agricultural Society 
was held at Dedham, on the 27th of March, 1867, when the following Resolutions were 
unanimously passed, and published in the Dedham Gazette. 

" Whereas, it is understood that the President of this Society — ^the Hon. Marshall P. 
Wilder — is about to embark on a voyage to Europe, for the recovery of his health ; and 

" Whereas, a deep sense of obligation to him, and a waim interest in the chief object of his 
visit abroad, are felt by the Society ; 

*' Therefore, Resolved, That an assurance of our grateful remembrance of his services in 
behalf of the Society, and of oiu' most earnest desire for the complete recovery of his health* 
his safety while abroad, and his speedy return to his native land, be, and is hereby ,'tendered 
to our beloved President, the Hon. Marshall P. Wilder. 

" Resolved, That this Society constitute Mr. Wilder as their Representative at the coming 
World's Exposition at Paris, and as their Delegate to all kindred associations which he may 
visit during his sojourn abroad." 

"Mr. Wilder, in brief and fitting terms, acknowledged the repeated tokens of respect and 
confidence which he had received from the Society, and his heartfelt appreciation of the 
personal regard of the members as expressed iu the resolutions." 



GENEALOGY. 



This contains the lineage of Mr. Wilder's family, arranged from the " Book of the 
Lockcs ; " the History of Huigham, by Hon. Solomon Lincoln ; the History of Leomin- 
ster, by Hon. David Wilder ; and from other sources. It can be traced from Thomas Wil- 
der, 1640 : but the descent from Martha is not so sure. The name of Martha, according 
to Mr. Drake's investigations in England, to which wc owe that exceedingly useful work, 
" The Founders of New England " — was in the list of passengers who came out in the 
ship Confidence, in 1638 ; from Shiplake, two miles south of Henley by the Thames. And 
the ti'adition in Hmgham, is, that she had two sons with her, Edward and Thomas. Ed^ 
ward remained there and left two children, of whom there are numerous descendants ; 
Thomas went to Charlestovra, and afterwards to Lancaster. But the subject has been 
so fully examined by Mr. Lincoln, to whom the^^iter is indebted for a careful summary of 
the evidence, that there can be little doubt upon this subject. 

I. Martha Wilder, widow, came from England, and according to 
Hingham records owned lands there in 1638 ; d. April 20, 1652. 

II. Children of Martha' : — (1) Edward,'* m. Elizabeth Eames, of 
Marshfield, lived in Hingham, leaving issue ; d. Oct. 28, 1690. (2) 
Thomas,' admitted to church, Charlestown, Jan. 1, 1640; Juryman, 
1658 ; moved to Lancaster July 1, 1659 ; m. Anna — — , who d. 1692 ; 
he d. Oct. 23, 166Y. 

III. Children of Thomas' :—(l) Thomas,' b. 1641. (2) John.» 
(8) Nathaniel,' killed by Indians at Lancaster, July, 1704. 

IV. Children of NathanieP:—(l) Jonathan.^ (2) Nathaniel.* (3) 
Ephraim,* who was wounded in Indian fight at Lancaster, 1707 ; d. 
1769, aged 94. (4) Oliver.* 

V. Children of Ephraim* :— (1) Ephraim,* b. 1702, d. March, 1770. 

VI. Children of Ephraim* : — (1) Capt. Ephraim,® b. July 8, 1733; 
m^ April 3, 1755, Lucretia, sister of Samuel Locke, D.D.; she was b. 
Nov. 5, 1733, and died Dec. 29, 1816, aged 83 ; he was Eepresen- 
tative some years from Sterling ; d. Jan. 29, 1805, aged 72. (2) 
Manassah.® (3) William.* 



52 MARSHALL PINCKNEY WILDER. 

VII. Children of Capt. Ephraim W.':— (1) Ephraim/ b. April 29, 
1156 ; m. Haunah Eeed, about 1178. (2) Timothy/ b. Dec. 2, 1159 ; 
m. Eunice Osgood, 1183. (3) Lucretia/ b. June 19, 1161 ; m. Eben- 
ezer Pope, 1180. (4) Elizabeth,'' b. July 22, 1163 ; m. Joseph Ken- 
dall, Feb. 15, 1814, who d. Nov. 1, 1835. She d. without issue March 
9, 1852, aged 89. (5) Eebecca,' b. Sept. 1, 1165, d. May, 1166. 
(6) Joel,'' b. July 1, 1161 ; m. Lucy Kendall, 1189. (1) Josiah,'' b. 
July 16, 1110 ; m. Susan Carlton, April 11, 1801. (8) Harrison,^ b. 
Feb. 11, 1114 ; m. Keziah Powers, Jan. 3, 1803. (9) Samuel Locke,' 
b. March 14, 1118 ; m. Anna Sherwin, May 20, 1791, dau. of Jona- 
than Sherwin, of Rindge, grandfather of Thomas Sherwin, Principal of 
the Boston High School. She was b. Dec. 31, 1118, d. Feb. 5, 1851, 
aged 12. He removed to Rindge, 1194 ; d. April 1, 1863, aged 85. 

VIII. Children of Samuel Locke W.'' : (1) Marshall Pinckney,' b. 
Sept. 22, 1198 ; m. 1st, Tryphosa, dau. of Stephen Jewett, of Eindge, 
Dec. 31, 1820 ; b. Dec. 21, 1199, d. on a visit there, July 31, 1831 ; 
2d, m. August 29, 1833, Abigail, dau. of Capt. David Baker, of Frank- 
lin, Mass. She was b. Aug. 4, 1810, d. at Aiken, S. C. of consump- 
tion, April 4, 1854 ; 3d, m. Sept. 8, 1855, Julia, sister of Abigail Ba- 
ker, b. Oct. 21, 1821. (2) Eurydice,' b. July 13, 1801, d. Jan. 9, 
1818. (3) Frederic Adolphus,^ b. April 16, 1804; m. Apphia Tyler, 
Jan. 28, 1828. (4) Mary Ann,' b. April 1, 1806 ; m. Eev. Albert B. 
Camp, Feb. 3, 1829, d. Dec. 25, 1830. (5) Nancy,' b. Nov. 10, 1809, 
d. Feb. 23, 1830. (6) Josiah,' b. Oct 31, 1813 ; m. Elizabeth F. Fos- 
dick. May 13, 1835, d. April 21, 1853. (1) Mersilvia,' b. June 18, 
1816 ; m. Stephen B. Sherwin, April 16, 1835. He d. Dec. 14, 1861. 
(8) Eurydice Augusta, b. Jan. 28, 1819. (9) Samuel Locke,' b. Jan. 
9, 1822 ; m. 1st, Anna' L. Silsby, Oct. 15, 1845, who d. Jan. 18, 
1856 ; 2d, m. Lorania L. Tuttle, Sept., 1851. 

IX. Children of Col. Marshall P. W.' :— (1) by his 1st wife: Mar- 
shall Pinckney,' merchant, b. Jan. 15, 1822 ; m. E. Clara, dau. of 
James C. Churchill, of Portland, Me., July 11, 1844; he d. at Dor- 
chester, Dec. 29, 1854. (2) Eurydice,'' b. June 11, 1823, d. at Eindge, 
Oct. 4, 1824. (3) Nancy Jewett,' b. Feb. 19, 1825 ; m. Dec. 28, 1858, 
Eev. Andrew Bigelow, D.D., now of Boylston. (4) Lucius Icilius,' b. 
Oct. 21, 1826, merchant, New Orleans. (5) Maria Louisa,' b. July 28, 



MARSHALL PINCKNEY WILDER. 53 

1828 ; m. Ambrose Wager, of Rhinebeck, N. Y., Sept. 26, 1850, 
and d. there of consumption, June 2, 1852. (6) William Henry,' b. 
July 15, 1830, d. Aug. 31, 1831. (7) By his second wife : Abbie Try- 
phosa,' b. May 22, 1834 ; m. Nov. 10, 1859, Wm. Wallace, merchant 
of Boston. (8) William Henry,' b. March 11, 1836, merchant ; m. 
Oct. 11, 1861, Hannah, sister of William Wallace. (9) Sarah Jane,' b. 
Sept. 29, 1841, d. July 28, 1858. (10) Samuel Locke,' b. Oct. 2, 
1843, d. Oct. 5, 1853. (11) Jemima Richardson,' b. June 30, 1845. 
(12) Grace Sherwin,' b. April 23, 1851. (13) By last wife: Edward 
Baker,' b. Nov. 11, 1851. (14) Marshall Pinckney,' b. Oct. 3, 1860. 

X. Children of Maria Louisa' and Ambrose Wager: — (1) Henry 
Wilder,^** b. April, 1852, d. July, 1852. 

Children of Abbie' and William Wallace :— (1) Ida,'° b. April 22, 
1861, d. April 5, 1863. (2) Belle,'" b. Sept. 8, 1862. (3) Annie,'° b. 
Sept. 8, 1864. (4) Edith,'" b. Dec. 6, 1865. (5) Jennie Wilder,'" b. 
March 6, 186t. 

Children of William H. Wilder' :— (1) Alice,'" b. Nov. 5, 1862. 
(2) Lizzie,'" b. Nov. 21, 1864. (3) William Henry, Jr.,'" b. March 
31, 186T. 



The subjoined letter of the Hon. Solomon Lincoln contains the 
document referred to in the Genealogy. 

WILDER. 

The Hingham traditionary account of the fiimily of Wilder as pnhlished by me, in 1827, 
in the History of Hingham, was that " a widow by the name of Wilder came out of En- 
gland with two boys, her only children, having before their departure disposed of their 
entailed estate ; and she never would disclose to her son Edward, who settled with her in 
Hingham, nor to any other person that we know of, the name of the place in England from 
which they came. Our ancestors have not left us any uniform tradition respecting the 
other boy, some of them supposing that he must have been the Wilder from whom descend- 
ed the families of that name in Lancaster and its vicinity," &c. 

This account of the family tradition was given to me by Joseph Wilder and Joshua 
Wilder, of Hingham, forty years since. They wore intelligent men. 

The Lancaster tradition, published by Joseph Willard, Esq., in his Histor^'^ of Lancaster 
{Worcester Magazine, Sept. 1826), was that Thomas Wilder, the first of that name in this 
country, came from Lancaster in England, that he settled in Hingham, had four sons, that 
one son remained in Hingham, from whom are descended all of the name of Wilder in that 
town and vicinity," &c. 

The Leominster tradition, as published by Hon. David Wilder, in his history of that 
town, in 1853, was stated as follows: "At an early date (previous to 1638) a widow by the 
name of Martha Wilder (Wyeldcr) came from Lancaster in England, to Hingham in Mas- 
sachusetts. She was accompanied by two sons, Thomas and Edward — the latter remaining 
in Hingham, and the former, after having resided some years in Charlestown, removed to 
Lancaster in the County of Worcester, July 1, 16-59, and must then have been about forty 
years of age. He had three sous : Thomas, born 1641, John, and Nathaniel," &c. 



54 MARSHALL PINCKNEY WILDER. 

Samuel G. Drake, in his Result of Researches published in 1860, p. 59, has the following 
in the list of passengers in the ship Confidence, " C C tonnes," gone for New England in 
April, 1638. 

" Martha "Wildr of Shiplocke in Oxfordsr Spinster. 
Mary Wild' her Daughter." 

Mr. Drake, in a note, says 

" Shiplake, by the Thames, two miles South of Hcnly." I find that Moule, in his En- 
glish Counties, vol. ii. page 70, describes Shiplake — " 3 miles S. of Henley, contains 101 
houses and 528 inhabitants," in Oxfordshire. Moule's English Counties was published in 
London, 1837. 

Hingham Records show grants of land to "Widow "Wilder" in 1638, viz. : a House Lot, 
Planting Lot, Great Lot, and Salt marsh. There is a grant of Salt marsh (recorded on same 
page) to Edward Wilder without date — and on tlie next page, under date of 1647, another 
grant of Salt marsh to Edward Wilder, perhaps the same as the foregoing. 

By other Hingham Records, it is well estabUshed that Widow Martha Wilder was the 
mother of Edward. 

Widow Martha Wilder died April 20, 1652. Edward, freeman 1644, married Elizabeth 
Eames of Marshfield, " before 1654 " says Reuben Hersey of Hingham, in his private re- 
cord ; had sons John, Ephraim, Isaac and Jabez, and four daughters. He died Oct. 18, 
1690. His widow died June 9, 1692. Hingham Records give a full account of the de- 
scendants of Edward Wilder. A Summary of the record is contained in Lincoln's History 
of Hingham. 

In a correspondence held with Hon. David Wilder of Leominster, in 1860, the tradition- 
ary accounts of Leominster and Hingham were the subjects of inquiry, and the result 
seemed to be that Martha Wilder of Hingham 1638, was the mother of Thomas and Ed- 
ward. We do not find any evidence as to the time when Thomas and Edward came to 
this country, except from tradition. The place from which she came was evidently Ship- 
lake in Oxfordshire, and not Lancaster, as Lancaster (N. E.) tradition states. It is not 
uncommon that the descendants of an ancient family conjecture that the name of the home 
of tlieir ancestors was given to the place of their settlement. 

Tlie fact that Mary Wilder came with her mother neither proves nor disproves that she 
had other children who came afterwards. The name of Mary Wilder, if she remained 
unmarried, would not appear in oiar Records except at her decease. 

There was a Mary Wilder born in Hingham in 1668, supposed to be one of Edward's 
daughters. This is probably a correct supposition, and would indicate that Mary was a 
family name, bemg that of her aunt. 

It may also be remarked, as pertinent to the discussion of the question whether Thomas 
of Chai'lestown and Edward of Hingham were related, that they each had a daughter 
Mary, and a son John, and Epliraim appears to have been a family name in both branches. 
So also are Thomas, Nathaniel and Ebenezer. 

So far as I have been able to collect evidence relating to the history of the first settlers 
in Hingham and Lancaster of the name of Wilder, the evidence from tradition, corrected 
by authentic records, is confirmatory of the opinion that Thomas and Edward were bro- 
thers. A full account of the descendants of Edward, of Hingham, can be given if desired. 
They are numerous, and their names would fill a volume, "rhe historians of Lancaster, 
Leominster and Leicester, seem to have the means of giving a full and satisfactory account 
of their branch of the family. 

But pei'haps I have in these notes by way of preliminary inquiry given enough to suggest 
the course of examination for more evidence of the history of the race in England. The 
records of Shiplake may throw some light on the subject ; and possibly those in Lancaster, 
England, may be worthy of examination, although I doubt whether the tradition that the 
family came from that place is sufficiently fortified by more authentic records. 

Solomon Lincoln. 

Hingham, January 26, 1867. 



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